I often sit and wonder, wonder about anything that pops into my ever-wandering mind. Winter here is very fickle. One day it’s sunny and I wish with every ounce in me that I could wear shorts. Then one day it’ll be gray, cloudy, with a few sprinkles of rain and I dream of curling up with some hot chocolate. I find that these gray days are the best to reflect upon those contradicting hot ones. I left behind my queen-sized mattress, my never-ending food options, having people be able to communicate with me whenever and the freedom to do whatever I wanted to do for a day. Now I...

      I sit here writing this post in the dark because our home’s electricity is faulty and of course I’m reading about the light of the world! God’s sense of timing and humor is perfect because faulty lighting is a great example of what a lot of Christians are guilty of doing, including myself.       In Matthew 5:13-16, God calls us to be the salt and light of the earth. It seems like a silly and easy thing to do, but I find it easier to hide my faith and not stretch my faith. This trip has been convicting me so much because it is so easy to...

              How do you write a blog about Africa when you’re not in Africa anymore?            My name is Amber Blankenship, Africa is my dream, and I’m the one that got sent home. I got sent home because my body was having a hard time adjusting to all the dust and smells, and the only way my body could convey that was through multiple asthma attacks. So how do I write about Africa, my dream, when I was sent home?...

Last Thursday, we did ATL (ask The Lord) in the city. Basically this means we ask The Lord in the morning for words, visions, directions, etc. for the day and then go where the Spirit leads us. I was with a team of 4 girls and we started our morning off praying at a local church. I got some really weird words and phrases from The Lord (at least I thought so). After we shared our lists as a team we went out. As we were walking we saw a nightclub called Club Babylon. Intrigued, we decided to go in. It was super dark and no one was inside except the bartender. He was 24 and super friendly so...

In the decades following Jesus’ time on earth, Paul wrote the following words to the church in Corinth: Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible… To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its...

Last Sunday, we had to say our first goodbye to our teammate Amber. Amber decided, for a number of reasons, that it was time for her to return home to America a month early.    This goodbye got me thinking about all the other goodbyes I have said in the past, and the goodbyes to come.    I was born with a desire to travel. A desire to leave home. A desire to experience the world. I first left home when I was 16 to work at a camp for the summer. I went away to school. I am currently spending my summer in Africa, and in a few weeks, I’ll fly to Ireland. This...