Loving Africa

  All's well that ends well... (my flight out of Nashville) My first journal entry is dated 19 January 2021 and begins, "I hardly want to remember yesterday, but for posterity..." If this post sounds insane and you start getting dizzy and confused... you will understand how it really was. After spending the weekend being physically ill from nerves, I woke up on Monday morning, January 18th, completely ready to leave (having received the blessing of the priest at the parish in Nashville after Mass the day before), with the notable exception of covid test results.   I called Air France before leaving the house to ask what would happen if I didn't have my test results in time for my flight and was told I would be able to rebook, at no charge, up to four days ahead. Naturally, I was not interested in that. I also called CVS (where I had gotten the test done) and was told that it was reasonable to expect results that day. In my journal, I wrote, "Called Delta [partner...

The Atlantic Ocean in Libreville. My story definitely does not start there.  Or rather, where it doesn't start. My story doesn't start the day I flew out of Nashville. Not by a long shot.  Growing up, the idea of mission work was not, if you will, foreign to me. My paternal grandparents were missionaries in Argentina (my grandmother was a nurse), my mom frequently told us of the month she spent in Nigeria, my dad and eldest brother went on a mission trip to Guatemala when I was five, and for years my family sponsored underprivileged children in South America and India.  Despite all this, I never had the "active desire" to do mission work until I was about thirteen or fourteen years old. There was a day when the thought simply came to me (one could add, I suppose, "from nowhere", except that it was probably my guardian angel suggesting it), "I want to be a missionary." While the idea waned a little as I continued to consider what I wanted to do with...

Loué Jésus-Christ!  Where to begin? On January 18th, 2021, I commenced my travel to the Mission St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus in Mouila, Gabon, to volunteer as a nurse. The beginning of my travel, however, was not the beginning of my journey, just as my arrival home on June 21st, 2021, was not the end. In between was an experience that has changed my life and, I believe, has truly made me a better person. My purpose with this blog is simply to share my story, my love of Africa, missionary life and all that entails (the French language not excepted). I hope it brings you a little happiness, inspiration -- whatever God sees fit that you take from it.  Please, ask questions! If you would like to ask me something, please leave a comment and I will either reply to it directly or use it as inspiration for a post. Thank you all, and may God bless you and Our Lady keep you.  In Christ the King, Sarah