in january of this year, a package arrived for me care of my parent's address. neither my parents nor i had ever heard of the sender. thinking it was just junk mail, i told my mom to toss it, but curiosity (huh, curiosity) got the best of her and she opened it. it was an application and information for the rafiki foundation, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to "turn helpless orphans in Africa into godly contributors in their country." rafiki has ten locations throughout africa, called training villages, that are essentially living and educational facilities for the orphans in the program. (i already have a pretty sweet bond with the people in africa.)
in the months prior to the arrival of this mystery package, i had been desperately searching to find God's plan for my life and where i needed to be. the norm around me was wedding-house-kids-wedding-house-kids and no matter how much i tried to make that my own, deep-down inside it did not feel right and there was a wall preventing my mind to wrap around the thought of a white picket fence and baby strollers. (not that there's anything wrong with that, or that i'll never have it ... let's stay on topic.) unbenounced to anyone, i even began researching different organizations to possibly return to africa for mission work. none of the programs seemed to fit and another door closes. enter ... rafiki.
i was immediately impressed with the rafiki foundation. it seemed to be a perfect fit for what i was looking for. needless to say, i completed the ever so extensive application ... and waited. i thought, if nothing else comes of this, just the experience has awakened something inside me to get out there and "do work." :) within a few weeks i received an invitation to attend a training conference with rafiki at their home office in florida. there i asked questions and got excited and got discouraged and excited again. it's like i wasn't meant to do anything else ... so begins the process of a new mission with rafiki!
some people have asked "why africa?" why go to africa when there is so much need in our own country? that's a difficult question to answer. yes, there is so much need in the states, and my answer has always been, "well, while i'm over there, you could get things going here." thinking about it lately, it's so much more than an obligation to a country, to ours or to africa, which has become a popular stop for many of our celebrity philanthropists. believe me, i didn't pick africa ... africa picked me. not everyone's destiny is to work with orphans in africa. to be quite honest, i don't even think it's my "destiny" ... but it is undoubtedly part of my journey. and there's a reason behind it that you and i may never understand in this lifetime. but that force behind it (and me) is unmistakable.
stay tuned ...
