5,4,3,2,1 .... submit. These were the words my best friend Kelsey and I said before submitting our application to Visiting Orphans for a mission trip to Uganda on July 21- August 1. This is it. It's finally happening. The call I have felt since I was 13 years old is being fulfilled or should I say just beginning. A little over a year ago, Kelsey told me about a girl named Katie Davis. She said, "Caroline, you have to read her blog. It is very inspiring and amazing." I went home that day and read it. And read. And read some more. Katie chose to move to Uganda and serve the Lord. She started Amazima Ministries and through it, the Lord has changed many children's lives. As I sat in tears, I felt the Lord saying, "I can do great things through my people, and I will use you to change lives too." I have felt this call towards missions for a long time, but I have always been afraid to say it out loud. Everytime I hear stories about international missions, my heart skips a beat, begins to pound, and I feel this knot in my stomach. It's very hard to explain the feeling, but I know it is the Lord. I have always loved children, whether that be the kids I babysit for down the street, or the ones I have only seen pictures of through Katie's blog. I adore hanging out with kids...laughing, playing, tickling, dancing, listening. I have always known God wants me to work with kids. My heart breaks everytime I even hear the word orphan. An orphan: someone who is alone and has noone to love him. I believe that through the power of God, I can be one to love an orphan. By the touch of my hand or a smile from my face, I can be like Christ and bring hope to these children. These children may not have an earthly father, but they have a heavenly father who is always with them. I know that God is calling me to work with children like this. I have no idea what this is going to look like, but I know that God is good, and He will use me. I surrender everything I am to be who God wants me to be and has called me to be. To go where He wants me to go. To give my whole self to a lost world. The Lord has opened the door for me to go to Uganda and work with different organizations that help orphans. Kelsey feels a similar call that I do, and together, we will travel and begin to fulfill this call. I cannot even express how excited I am about this. I believe this is my first step of a journey the Lord has been shaping and preparing my heart for my whole life.
