In
a week, I will be leaving for Africa. I've lived in California for the last 29
years. This has been my home. This is the place that I know and yet, very soon,
I will leave home to do something that I've dreamed of doing, to serve in
Africa as a lay missionary.
I'm
very excited for what lies ahead. I did all the research that I could do,
studied what I was asked to study, raised the funds I needed to raise. And
pretty soon, I should be done with my packing too. To say that I am only
excited is an understatement though. My family has been concerned about the
situation in Africa, my safety, and just the thought that I'll be in another
continent unfamiliar to them and in many ways still, to me.
But
I'm not afraid. In the email exchanges that I had with the people I will be
with there, I know I will be in good hands. I think we all have this image of
Africa in our heads because of what we see on TV or online but based on their
stories, I have nothing to fear. Besides, that's the thing about life. You're
never really sure about what's going to happen, but that's not an excuse to
live in fear.
I
thank God for the calling and my family for their full support and last but not
least for my friends and co-parishioners at St. Francis De Sales for their
prayers and generosity.
And
so I'm going to this one big adventure.
