Psalm 31:5 Into Your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me Lord, my faithful God.

I commit my spirit. What does the word commit actually mean? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines commit as to put in charge, to trust or to pledge oneself. Dictionary.com says that commit is to entrust something to someone for safekeeping. And once again, the Oxford Dictionary says that to commit is to bind to yourself to another. All definitions are saying that to commit is to give up willingly with full trust. 

As I prepare to travel over 8,000 miles to a country, let alone a continent that I have never stepped foot in, I have chosen to commit my spirit, my trust and this trip to my never failing God. In 90 short days I will fly out of the Indianapolis International Airport with 15 other nursing students and our leaders: professor, clinical instructor and resident assistant. 

During our three months in Zambia we will be traveling to three different towns: Lusaka, Choma and Zimba. Along with our 12-15 credit hours of nursing classes, we will be working in the local clinics, hospitals and orphanages. These hours will be spent along side doctors, nurses and Zambian nursing students as we give Christ-like care to our patients. (I heard that a few of the students who went to Zambia last year were lucky enough to help deliver a few babies!! Fingers crossed!)

In this blog I will write about the trip, post photos and maybe even videos for all of you back home to view. Because we will not have phone service in Zambia, this will most likely be the main source of communication.  I will try as hard as I can to post consistently, however we may not always have internet, so you may need to be patient! 

My hope is that you will be praying for our team as we face poverty, AIDS, malnourishment and death in Africa. Please pray for God to strengthen and use us in order to fulfill His plan. In the book of Jeremiah, we are told that God knows the plans that He has for us. I believe that the Lord has hand picked each of the students going on the trip and He knows what we will be facing. As we leave the comfort of home and travel across the globe, I would love for you to follow the blog and leave comments and encouragement during the three months that I will be in Zambia!

To God be the glory now and forever. Amen.
Joy