Beautiful Beginnings

Beginnings are interesting to say the least. It's the joy of starting something new mixed with the sadness of other good things coming to a close and the fear of the unknown that make beginnings so confusing. It's the hot surge of excitement meeting the cold pang of nervousness that makes you want to embrace the something new and run away from it at the same time. But as I lie awake in this hotel room, listening to my father snoring (and loudly; I don't know how my mother gets any sleep) in the next bed over, considering what this next year could possibly hold, one feeling surpasses all the others: gratitude. I'm grateful for the innumerable blessings The Lord has given me all throughout my life. The gift of faith, loving parents, a rockstar sister, countless friends who support and encourage me, a roof over my head, three meals a day (and oftentimes more), clothes on my back (way more than I need, too), two incredible church communities, a home at Calvin College, wise mentors, life changing opportunities...the list is legitimately endless! My heart swells at the thought of how truly rich I am. And now, despite the fact that I have so much more than many others, God is inviting me on a whole new journey through which I am confident He will bless me even more!

Tomorrow morning (bright and early) I'll be boarding the first of three planes that will take me from all the people, places, and things I know and love to Lesotho, Africa. I've never been to Africa, let alone Lesotho. In fact, I'd never even heard of Lesotho until a year ago. But God is funny that way. Through the help of a great mentor and friend (Nick In't Hout, that's you) I learned about an orphanage called Beautiful Gate in a little landlocked country within South Africa called Lesotho. At first it didn't mean all that much to me, but, in a way that only God could have orchestrated, I repeatedly encountered Beautiful Gate through friends from completely different contexts in my life who either knew about it or had been there themselves. It was probably the 7th instance or so when I finally accepted that God was speaking to me. He was inviting me to consider something I never would have planned for my life on my own and He had something big in mind. So, to make a long story short, over the course of the past year, I've been raising money, working with a travel agent, and preparing for an adventure that begins tomorrow. I will arrive at Beautiful Gate sometime early afternoon on Wednesday and will spend the next year working with and loving 60-70 of God's most precious creations.

My hope is that this blog will be a place both to keep my loved ones back home updated with my journey and process it for myself. Some posts may be short and sweet, and others may be entirely too long. It may be riddled with bad grammar and I might ramble aimlessly from time to time. All I can say about that is #sorrynotsorry. In all, my aim is to be truthful about how The Lord uses this experience to transform me more into the person He's created me to be. If you read this, I thank you for your time and your apparent interest in my little piece of God's big, BIG story. Occasionally I will post prayer requests and I hope that you will come alongside me and pray for those things. I wholeheartedly believe in the power that comes from prayers of God's people and I so often rely on it. There really is no better way you can join and support me in this journey!

It all comes down to this. Over a year's worth of praying, planning, and preparing culminates in just a few short hours. Thank you to everyone who has loved me, encouraged me, and supported me. I wouldn't be where I am without you. I have many hopes and dreams for what this next year holds, but  I trust in God's plan above all and my prayer remains "God's will be done." So, my adventure begin. It's going to be beautiful.