Skip to main content

Heading in the direction of North Africa.

In one month today I head to North Africa on a mini-ministry trip. Last year I went south in Africa, and now the door has opened to step into the northern part. I have never been an “Africa-girl”- Latin America has been my heart... and yet I find myself travelling to this continent still so unfamiliar. But sometimes the best move is to just walk in the direction of the open doors.

It might sound dramatic, but just to clarify: it’s a 7 day visit not a life-time move. Going to help a contact-become-friend with her project reaching vulnerable teenagers. It’s new and pioneering and exciting! Part of me feels so unequipped, and yet I am so honoured to get to be a part of this in a small way. So, after navigating the challenges of figuring out the best dates and finding flights that don’t require 24 hours of travel I am set to go.

And as I prepare my hope is that some of what I know, and most of all, who I am, can be a blessing to my friend and her team as they also step out into new territory.

Too many details on an open blog isn’t always the wisest of ideas (although I find much can be said between the lines), so if you want to know a bit more, you can click this link to get an email update: http://madmimi.com/signups/96151/join

Watch this space! Hoping to join the blogging world a bit more frequently...

Popular posts from this blog

Getting to know the local culture.

Life is a strange thing. Last week went…not much happened, and then it was over. The weekend was quite calm without too many wild and exciting things happening. Except, of course, a wee outing to watch the National Championship for Veteran Ploughing. Now, like me, you might be sadly lacking an understanding of what this actually means. So I am delighted to be able to enlighten you in this respect. It’s basically (for the “farm-language-illiterate” like myself) a competition where you use old (hence the name “veteran”) tractors and ploughs, and plough up a stretch of field which is then evaluated and the one scoring the highest sum (accuracy, depth, how well the soil is turned is all given points) wins. I must admit that this information I got by eavesdropping on a conversation next to me where a man was explaining to some of my friends how it all works. So that was a fun adventure….although we only stayed for a bit. What is sort of occupying my mind at present is my upcoming travel abr...
Read more

Taking in the familiar and a heart connected.

Amsterdam. It still has that muggy feeling in Summer, and a constant flow of people which if you stop to think about it, it's quite amazing that there would even be space to accommodate them all. But then I guess they are not all staying. Just passing through on their way to or from somewhere. It's always good for the heart to visit somewhere that was once home. The familiarity of streets and customs makes it easier to embrace what might be new as well as the joy of being reacquainted with old friends. Friends. So many of them to be found in this city, ready with hugs and good words that are uttered when seeing someone who was away again. Friendship. A treasure that cannot be bought. Cobblestones trodden by many, including myself. Sitting on a bench. Praying. Remembering the first time I stumbled upon this area lined with windows with red lights and curtains. An area which has come to represent no longer windows, but people to me. Some still behind a window. Others who have ...
Read more

Romania- so much hope filling my heart for this nation.

As I sit down to write this, I am at the little table in a rented flat in the centre of Bucharest, Romania. It’s quiet. Strangely quiet considering we’re in the centre of a huge city. My feet are propped up on a worn fake-leather puff thing, and as I check the time I realize that I have been in the country less than 24 hours... and yet my heart is overflowing with impressions and emotion for a nation I barely know. It’s getting late, but I know I am too awake to sleep and so have made myself a cup of Earl Grey (with milk) and have sat down to try to capture at least a bit of what this day has been. As always, I write mostly for myself and the occasional other who desires to enter into the telling of my story. Driving from the airport last night, and getting the first glimpse of the city and seeing majestic buildings lit up towards the night sky, filled me with expectation. A beautiful city filled with so much history. I came wondering. Wondering what this nation I knew from w...
Read more