Looking Back to One Year Ago: The Congo

After returning from the Congo, I measured time by how much of it had passed since we returned.  One month went by, two months, three months.... and pretty soon a whole year flew by.  

It hardly seems possible.

When our trip to the Congo all came about, I had no idea what to expect.  Samaritan's Purse worked with us through most of the details of the planning and preparing, which was very nice.  Before I knew it, our tickets were booked, our bags were packed, my parents showed up to take the kids, and we were off! To be completely honest, I went to Africa not ever considering a future in missions.  With four kids and our families being so close, I couldn't possibly take my kids over there long-term or leave my family for too long.   While in Africa, though, I had a strange, but vivid reoccurring dream.  I didn't think much about it at first, but the more I had it, the more I thought about it.  In the dream, Erik and I were walking into a building as an African man approached us.  He was very weak and said he was very sick.  He called to Erik, saying, "Doctor, doctor!  Help me.  Please help me."  Erik and I turned to look at him and then Erik pushed me gently inside and then shut the door behind us.  I grabbed Erik's arms and said, "Erik!  What are you doing?  We can not shut the door on these people.  They need us.  They need our help.  They need what we can give them."  And that was it.  The more I had the dream and the more I thought about it, the more I wondered.  What would happen to these people if the missionaries weren't here?  Where would they go?  Where would they get help?  Would they die?  Would they ever have the opportunity to hear of Jesus and His sacrifice?  Would they ever be saved?  As our weeks in Africa went on, my heart began to change.  I wasn't just there to accompany Erik on his medical service or to uplift the missionaries and help show God's love to others.  I was there to see first hand who these people were, what this country was, and to fall in love with all of what I saw.  There is no doubt in my mind that God knew that I needed this trip, to grow a love and passion for missions.

We've been home a year and there isn't a day that has gone by since our return that I haven't said, "Erik, let's go to Africa!"  I can't wait to see what God has in store for our family!