So Sammie wanted news about the outreach. Okiez, here goes. IT WAS TOTALLY AWESOME!!! The first day I videotaped (my official job) and went on the prayer walk, which was my very favourite part of the whole trip. We went to two different villages and just walked around, stopping various places to pray. I love it when you can feel God's presence when you pray...it makes you remember how powerful your prayers are. The first village already had a church, but the second village was "unreached". We were praying and I could hear the kids and adults clamoring around us. I opened my eyes and my friend and I were surrounded by kids. I loved it :) The next day I dug and mixed cement. Lemme tell ya, it is not easy, but I became a pro at it. It's like making cookies, only with a shovel and a wheelbarrow instead of a bowl and spoon hehe. My feet and pagne (wrap skirt) got totally covered in grey slimy cement, but I felt a lot better after I had a shower. I was so tired but that night was still awesome. I got to do the overheads for the service that night. I loved watching the Africa kids' faces during the stories, dramas and songs. I prayed so hard that some seed would find a heart to grow in. That night my friend Joanna and I lay on the roof of my uncle's SUV and stared up at the stars and shared. It was a huge step for me to share some of my story, of my heart with her. I've felt so isolated so much of the time. It is so hard for me to open up, but as we shared what God had done in our lives I felt such a wonderful peace and gratefulness for her friendship. God has given slowly given me a few friends here who I feel I can trust. The next morning I got up before any of the students (although the adults were up) and grabbed my flashlight and Bible and went outside to sit on a bench in the semi-darkness. It was so peaceful, so fulfilling. The Psalms were actually spiritually quenching. Sammi, remember our early morning vigils on the roof at SIL? It was like that...Only colder hehe. Church was awesome. Uncle Dave's message was like a reiteration of what I had experienced that morning- taste and see that God's Word is good. (As a side note, it was in French and I understood every word! Score!)
Doing all these scholarships and having to write what my career aspirations and dreams are has developed in me a dream. God has helped me realize this year how much I love working with and encouraging young girls...But I also really want to devote my life to advocacy. And so, in Megan's up-in-the-clouds head and heart was born the REACH program. What it basically is is North American girls becoming pen-pals with girls overseas who are abused or impoverished. Once a relationship is established, the girls would raise money and write letters to the government and advocacy agencies etc on their friend's behalf. There would be easier activities for elementary girls to help their friends and the responsibilities would get more challenging through middle school and high school. The North American girls would get a cross-cultural experience and hopefully gain a sense of social responsibility, while at the same time helping their friends in other countries. I remember when I first started getting interested in advocacy, there was nothing I could really do, no real program that I could get involved with. Even now my efforts are limited to writing letters. I can be more effective, writing from Africa, but it is still hard as a teenager to do something tangible. So I don't know where God will take this program, or if He will use it at all, but I'm kind of excited about it.
That's all for now. (You would not believe how cold it is here in this room.)
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