Growing up in Wheaton, Illinois, I did not have much knowledge about the brokenness of the world that we live in. My Dad was involved in short term missions at my church and would travel to different countries once a year. When he would come home he would show me photos from his trip of famine, disease and homelessness. I remember looking at the photos and taking it all in. I could not believe that there were people, just like me and families just like mine that were living in such terrible conditions. Yet, I did nothing about it.
When I was 17 years old I went on a two week missions trip to Honduras with my youth group. There I was introduced to some of the sights my Dad had shown me in his photos. This different way of life started to become more real to me. Now as I prepare for three months over-seas in Zambia, I often find myself thinking back to those photos. Seeing the faces of the children in the laying in hospital beds, the people living on the streets and the families who did not know where their next meal would come from. Part of me thinks that because I have this foreknowledge that I will be slightly prepared for what we see in Africa. But then the other part of me feels completely unequipped. The latter makes up most of my thoughts these days. I recently received a letter in the mail from a friend and previous Zambia abroad student. She told me that she had some of the same feelings the summer before she left for Africa. She also told me some of the best advice I have received thus far about the trip. God uses the willing, not the qualified. I am so thankful for that trait of God.
My prayer is that over the next few weeks and during the course of the semester in Zambia, God will allow me to gain knowledge through my classes, clinicals, the other students and every day situations to better prepare me for the trip. However, God has hand picked every single person going on this trip. He has chosen us not because we are qualified, but because we are willing.
