A Sharpie Marker, a Boring Meeting, a Passionate Friend, and a CRAZY Dream!

Sunday, June 7, 2009 forever changed my life thanks to these things... Crazy? Definitely!

The previous day, June 6, my best friend, Liv, returned from a 2 week mission trip to Africa with a group from church. I had driven home late Friday night to surprise her at the airport on Saturday. After her plane arrived I spent the next 24 hours listening to all her stories from the trip and pretty much hung on every word. I really wanted to be with them on the trip, but missing Bible School in a children's ministry world just doesn't fly! Anyway, needless to say I was amazed by all her stories of how God moved not only through, but also in her while they were ministering in Africa. She had a real passion for Africa and the people there and that passion spilled over onto me. I felt the urge to get on a plane that very minute and experience it for myself.

Sunday afternoon Liv and I were in a BYBC meeting with a small group of people so she was sharing with them what God had done in Africa. She mentioned how she could not wait to go back and how it would be great to spend Christmas there at a girls home in which they had visited. She wished she could do it this Christmas, but it was already June and it would be crazy to even think about... All I have to say is that crazy is the only way I think! The moment she mentioned it, I was all about it. In my world it would be an experience of a lifetime and this Christmas would be the perfect time because we had nothing pressing that would hold us back.

Well, I kept my thoughts to myself and we proceeded into another meeting that was...well...boring! I had to find something to keep me from going crazy, so I diverted my thoughts back to Christmas in Africa. I thought and thought about it and weighed all the options in my head. The only conclusion I could come up with was "Why not?!?" I had a sharpie marker in my hand doodling on a piece of paper. Liv's hand was laying next to the piece of paper, so I leaned over and wrote "DREAM" on her hand. I had decided in my brain that if she asked me why I did that I would pitch the idea of going, but if she didn't I wouldn't mention it. The meeting went on a little while longer, we went out to dinner with some friends, and then we were hanging out at her house and it never came up... I was a little on edge, but I was slowly letting my thoughts of Christmas in Africa go...

It was getting late and we both were getting tired, but we were still talking and catching up on each others life. As we were talking she again saw "DREAM" and proceeded to ask me why in the world I wrote it on her hand. SCORE!!! So I pitched my idea, and she had this look like was I was CRAZY. After a moment of silence, she asked me if I was serious, because she would be all about it!

A few emails were sent and plane tickets were looked at... Now all we had to do was convince our parents... to let us go... half-way around the world... for 3 weeks... by ourselves... at Christmas time!

To be continued...