37B

I was in ninth grade when I first felt the tug. I was sitting in a library presentation with the entire English class. The video played, yet the pictures lay still in my mind – hurting children, sick children; but more so, children who were alone, orphaned or abandoned by parents with HIV/AIDS. The small women up front presenting the film on orphans in Africa was elderly, with such kind yet worn eyes, etched with years of experience. A nurse. She had gone with something to give, and afterwards  I asked her a question, confirming something about her that I had already decided.

“You gave them hope too?”

In the video, her life had already portrayed the service of a woman behind the scenes of God's work. Understanding the 15 year old stranger, she smiled and nodded. Just another worker in the field of His harvest.

I wanted to bring healing.

Even more...I wanted to bring hope...

That was 7 years ago.

I've heard that God can put desires in our hearts, and therefore it's important to search those out in His will– perhaps those desires are meant to point towards a greater purpose in our lives. I remember asking my mom “Why do all girls become nurses?!” (I probably wanted to be something different). It wasn't until I saw the need across the globe, and realized how much I'd been given (not by anything I did or deserved, but simply because of where and how God had placed me in this life) that God also planted in me a hurt for those who hurt, and a desire to offer help and hope. “For everyone, to whom much is given, from him much will be required.” Luke 12:48. My country, my home, my family, my friends, my life...I'd been given much - I had that to give.

Two more years to graduation. Four years in college. A year of experience in the field. Tropical Nursing school in Liverpool. It seems like a long time since the day in the library...yet it all came more quickly than I could have imagined.

I have researched the organization, seen the pictures, talked to the volunteers, grasped hold an understanding for their vision; and now I embark on a journey for the following two months where I seek to simply play a role in the body of Christ with "Watoto". The neonatal intensive care unit in Kampala, Uganda will train me to care for the sick and premature infants - orphaned or found abandoned in isolated locations around and within the city parameters.

No matter how much you envision something, you can't begin to fathom the realities of a place you've never been to, touched or experienced. Excited? Yes. Fearful? Perhaps a small bit. Yet God has used so many people in my path, so many experiences in my life, and so many intercessions on my behalf for me to be in this place, seat 37B towards my destination. I do not deserve to be here. I could not have gotten here on my own. From the place where my heart was tugged seven years ago, until Oct. 29, 2014, He has proved faithful, loving and only good. I can trust Him with what is to come.

A huge thank you to those who donated: I received over 350  sleepers and outfits for Babies,
blankets, diapers, Advil, Tylenol, Baby formula, creams, pacifiers, bibs and oral rehydration packets!