VUNJIKA

Of all the things that could be stressing me out about this trip, thinking of the perfect blog address seemed to take the cake. I'm a details person so the fact that I don't have my sleeping bag, clothes, back pack, head lamp, tent...actually, let me reverse that. The fact that all I have so far is a drawstring bag, an extra tooth brush, and a couple skirts doesn't really stress me out. I like the rush of getting everything together in the end. As far as pre-trip preparations, the blog was weighing on my mind. I've asked for input from my friends and family, but I just didn't find what I was looking for.

A lot of "allieinafricas" and "theadventuresofallies" came up, or, even better, "theadventuresofallieinafrica" was a popular vote. Too general. Then I got suggestions that seemed confusing like "sendhermender" or just "mendher" trying to play off my last name. Too complex. I wanted something that would be more of a glimpse into the purpose behind the trip, and I also want to be able to use this blog again wherever the Lord takes me next. And if that's not Africa, I don't want to be stuck with an African web address.

It's such a silly aspect, but I prayed about it. As I prayed for something to just pop up, I started thinking about what I had asked God originally that brought me to this trip. I asked him to break my heart for what breaks His.

A couple years ago I decided to make that request the motto for my life, and in the past year I knew I was beginning to lose that desire. I long to be broken for the things that break God's heart. Social injustice. Curable diseases killing hundreds and thousands. Hunger. Poverty. Abandoned and unloved children. God's heart breaks for His people that are going through these things, and as I developed a renewed zeal for pleasing Him, God broke my heart for them more than ever before. After begging the Lord to be overly clear, just so I would be sure, I knew I was going to Africa.

I'm going on a journey through Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, and I'll be back in May. We'll see where God takes me next, but I've decided after trying things my own way that I won't try and make my own plans any more. I've truly been broken, but a new kind of broken. This is a broken I've never known before, a broken that keeps me closer to Christ than ever, and a broken that is actually a good thing. In the past six months, the Lord has turned my life upside down, taken me through the hardest trials I've ever faced, and brought me RIGHT HERE, on my way to Africa with a group of people I've never met and an organization I know virtually nothing about. But, exactly where He wants me.

So broken it is. And since the primary language (beside English) in each of the countries I'll be in is Swahili, I decided to use their word for it. VUNJIKA. It means "to be broken" or "to be wrecked." God has absolutely wrecked me for this purpose. For His purpose. It's completely unconventional to drop out of college after the first semester of my freshman year, but it's exactly what I'm supposed to be doing.

There haven't been many times in my life before this that I have been able to say I am doing exactly what the Lord wants, and I am right where He wants me with much confidence. But I asked God to break my heart for the things that break His, and He did. He asked me to go, and I know I will continue to have struggles and face trials, but the least I can do is go where my Heavenly Father is calling me. Trusting Him, I think I'm about to find out what it really means when broken is a good thing.