T-312 Hours.. or Something Like That- The Adventures of Africa

18720 Minutes.

312 Hours.

13 Days.

13 Days until I am off on another adventure. I'm not sure I have officially publicly announced this, but for those of you who do not know- in 312 hours I will be arriving at the Sioux Falls airport to board a plane with 17 others to embark on an a medical mission trip to Nairobi, Kenya in Africa! God unfortunately shut the door for me to return to Honduras this January, but not with out opening this window wide open first. I could not be more excited for this incredible opportunity to serve, but before I go to into detail I need to be real with y'all, because I need your prayer.

As a large majority of you reading this know, last year I was humbled to have the amazing chance to travel to Siguatepeque, Honduras for an entire month. While there I taught and assisted in teaching Kindergarten- 4th grade at a bilingual school, orphanage, and clinic. I absorbed the Honduran culture with my host family and we traveled to smaller villages like Puran and helped start gardens for some of the poorest of the poor. I could talk about my time in Honduras forever and how I did this and that, but in all reality I did not do a single thing. God broke me so incredibly hard and all the work that was done and any lives that were changed were all because of God. He is so faithful and so good. Upon returning to the United States I struggled for a long time with things that I experienced while in Honduras. I struggled with adjusting to life in the United States again and with understanding why I got to return to the U.S. and my sweet little 4th grader who lived in a mud hut with her family and ate dirt had to stay. How is it fair that I am so wasteful with water and food and have a plethora, while my sweet kids, they could never imagine some the things I eat nor could the imagine all the water i use. I struggled hard and I still am to some extent. God did an incredible work in my heart and opened my eyes to so many things, but it was not easy and it was very painful, but the joy He has given my heart and the passion He has filled it with makes it all so worth it. 

Back to the main point: I would love if you would all please keep me and the rest of the team in your prayers as we take this 2 week long journey. I ask you pray for our hearts to be open and accepting as we enter this country, for the callouses on our hearts to be broken down and ready to grow in so many ways, for all barriers surrounding our hearts to be torn down so that we can love deeply and dangerously, for the culture shock as we enter a new world, and for all of who we are as we return to the States, because i know first hand that the recovery can be brutal. We appreciate you all SO much and are SO thankful for you! This trip would not be possible with out all of your support. 

I'm sure a lot of you are still wondering what exactly we will be doing. Upon arrival in Kenya, we will land in Narobi and later travel to Eldoret as well as smaller villages along the way. We will be doing all sorts of stuff that I can better update you all on as it happens, but our main goal is to share the gospel and pray for every patient and family that walks into our clinic. We will also provide medical care to as many as possible, working along side Kenyan doctors and nurses. I am so incredibly stoked and ready to love on all the people of Africa while learning how to become a nurse. For those who I have not shared my goals with, I am currently majoring in nursing and minoring in biology and psychology at the University of Sioux Falls. Once graduated I intend to continue on to receive my nurse practitioners liscense, practice in the States for a couple years and then spend a portion of my life travelling as a missionary nurse, which is another reason i am so hyped for this trip! God has been so good and so faithful. I can not wait to update y'all as much as possible and share with you what God is doing. As before I ask that you please be patient with updates as wifi is not as reliable, but I will try my very best to post a weekly overview! Please feel free to contact me with any questions or just to chat, I would love to hear from you! 

Here are other ways to follow my trip/ contact me:

Blog: You are already here :)

Facebook: Bekah Henderson

Snapchat: bek1616

Instagram: rebekah_raielle

Email: rebekah.henderson@usiouxfalls.edu   OR rrhenderson16@gmail.com

Call/Text: 402-806-6276

In Christ and with much love,

Rebekah

Here I am- The Adventures to Africa

Growing up, I always heard the phrase, "Be careful what you wish for" and would always roll my eyes at it. I think a better phrase would be, "Be careful what you prayer for", because God might take it in a direction you never knew was possible. I had often thought about the idea of mission work or becoming a missionary growing up, but at that age I am not sure I fully understood what that meant. I remember watching my oldest brother travel to Louisiana after hurricane Katrina to help with the clean and not too many years after that I remember watching him go to Grenada and help build a school. I watched my other two brothers travel to Mississippi and teach VBS in one of the poorest counties it the nation. I remember watching two important people in my life travel to Uganda and India. I had a strong sense of pride every time one of them left on a trip, yet my heart was aching. "Why can't I go yet? When will it finally be my turn?" I patiently watched and waited each time until finally my time came. My eighth grade year I traveled to Carey, Mississippi for the first time, to help teach VBS and to give lots of love to those sweet kids. I then went back 3 more times. My final trip there, while I knew it would more than likely be my final time there, I knew God had something bigger in store, but I did not realize how big it was until after I had returned home. In September of 2016 I blindly purchased a ticket to Honduras not knowing much about what I would do, but basically only knowing where I would be staying and at the time, I had never met the people I was going to stay with, but nonetheless, On December 28th, 2016 I left all that I knew and all that was "comfortable", hopped on a plane, and landed in San Pedro Sula, Honduras where I met my host family for the first time. I was all alone in a foreign country and I was terrified, but not worried about a single things, because it was God and me. I spent almost a month living in Siguatipeque, Honduras teaching kindergarten, 1st grade, 3rd grade, and 4th grade at a bilingual school, orphanage, and clinic. I also went with my host family into one of the poorer communities called Puran. This trip broke me so hard and my heart and mind were left in many pieces, but I can not begin to describe how much this trip taught me and how much I grew while I was there and while I adjusted back to the U.S. If I had not put every ounce of trust in God while in Honduras, I honestly believe that I would not be here today. While I felt guilty and empty when I returned I was filled with love and joy and thankfulness, and a burning passion to continue to be Jesus' hands and feet.
The original plan was to return to siguat in January of 2018, but sadly those plans fell through, but for really good reasons. I had become content with staying in the states and maybe travelling to another state or staying at a friends house when the first week of school God placed an offer in front of me that I could not say no to. So on January 11th, 2018 I will be travelling to Kenya, Africa on a 16 day medical mission trip. God has blessed me in HUGE ways and I can not wait to see how He uses this trip. SO much has changed in a year(too much to share in one post, but I would love to share so feel free to ask).
In 40 days I will travel with an amazing group of people to share the gospel and assist in giving medical care to the beautiful people of Africa. Y'all my heart is so anxious and I can not believe how good God has been. He's moving mountains everyday!
I will try my best to update y'all as much as possible, but for now here is how you can pray:

Please pray for:

• My health and the health of the team
• My heart, the hearts of the team, and the hearts of the African people
• Safe travels and safety while there
• That God continues to break me to grow me