"How was Africa?". That is a question that many people have asked me over the past week. The short and easy answer is, "It was incredible". Then they reply, "Tell me about it"and I don't know where to start. So this is my beginning, a new blog that will serve as a way for me to kinda process everything and share stories. You can't go to Africa to spend time with orphans and come back the same person. You are forever changed in ways that you never expected. But, what do you do with that change?

Reverse culture shock is for real. I arrived in Ethiopia and I was shocked by the amount of poverty there. I have been a lot of places, but the poverty there was the worst I have ever seen. But after a short time you form relationships with these people and your life changes in ways you never expected. This poverty becomes personal because it involves the people that you love. You realize that the child you spent the morning playing with is one of 5 million orphans in the country. But that one takes on a whole new meaning when you know his or her name, age, birthday, what they want to be when they grow up etc. She isn't just a number in some statistic, she's a child who has a story that has touched your heart. More importantly, she's a child created in the image of God. You learn her story, how she barely survived living without consistent food, water, and a home for months. Then you hear her talk about Jesus and sing and dance and give thanks for all that God has given her. You come home a few weeks later and sit in your air conditioned house drinking clean water that came straight from a faucet. Reverse culture shock sets in. You think This just doesn't seem right. You attempt to enter back into your former life and realize that you live in so much excess. Then you think of the people who you now call your friends who you worshipped Jesus with. They had nothing but He was enough. They didn't have money to pay for certain things, but they trusted that God would be faithful to provide. You watched them give Him all the credit when He did provide. You know that they are so poor but yet there is something so rich about them that you know you need. It's not things- its faith in Jesus. You are now kinda shocked by the American way of life. Your shower head can be changed to a water pressure of your choosing. Your lamp has various levels of light to choose from depending on your need for light. For the first time in your life, those things seem crazy.

So this is where I am- still in culture shock. And asking, "now what?". I'm going to try to share at least one story a day. Im remembering how much I enjoy blogging :).