June 2006 we started on this trek to get to Africa with CMF and join the work that is going on there. We've dreamed about the day we would be leaving our lives here and traveling to Tanzania, our new home. That day has finally been set- December 9th!
So it has taken us 18 months to get to this point. Not having gone through this before, I was thinking it would surely be quicker, like 6 to 12 months. That mind set has left me a little discouraged at times. Yet we have been encouraged that the average time to get into the field is 18-20 months.
Looking back I am smiling at my expectations of time, what was I thinking?! In these 18 months we will have- left our jobs, sold our home and moved back to Denver, given away or sold the majority of our 'stuff', taken 6 weeks of classes on cross cultural living and pre-language learning and alternative construction techniques and Community Health Evangelism, traveled to 10 different states to share our story and visit family, gone through many weeks of immunizations, read 15+ books and taken courses to grow us mentally and spiritually stronger, have gone through a Rosetta Stone CD series learning the KiSwahili language, purchased supplies like tools for construction and packed 13 containers for shipping with Mercy Flights, gotten international drivers licenses and updated our wills and completed paperwork for residency visas, attended the North American Christian Conference and Global Missions Health Conference.
Whew!
I guess 18 months or 1 1/2 years or 547 days in the big picture of our lives is not that long.
JOURNEY INTO AFRICA- This is our story of living and serving in Africa.
3 comments:
Congratulations! I am thrilled to be the sister & sister-in-law of missionaries on their way to Africa. God is now and will in the future use both of you in unexpected ways for His Glory! Isn't it wonderful that we can depend on his faithfulness and His perfect timing! Love, Nancy
Wow - when you put it that way - 18 months is not really all that long! It sounds like God has been preparing you for your journey - not just during these 18 months, but for a life time. "He will give you the desires of your heart" - truly He is doing that as you cooperate with Him in His plan for your lives. Huge Blessings to you both as you complete the preparation phase. We love you, Peggy and Dennis
You have accomplished a tremendous amount in these past 18 months Jane Ann and in that time you have made a difference in other peoples lives, not only family but the friends, co-workers, casual acquaintances even, with the telling of your story you have inspired many to make changes in their lives (maybe not so dramatically) to think about the time we have on earth and how we can help others as well. I wish you all the best in your journey to Africa and look forward to reading more about your journey once you are there.
Best wishes, Sue
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