musings of a ragamuffin

I am currently at 49% of the way funded for my trip, with 17 days to go. Thank you to all who’ve donated and supported me for this trip. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. To those that will, thank you, as well. For this trip is something few get to do, and something all should do. I certainly don’t take it lightly. I am not going for fun. I imagine there will be parts of joy, but I am imagining, and understand, it’s really imagining since I have no real context, that this trip will crush me, that it will break me, that it will leave me in tears at every turn. Why? Because I care. Because I’ve always had a heart for Africa, and even now, when I see pictures, watch videos from there, I’m brought to tears for a people who are filled with joy in the midst of such amazing adversity. Adversity I will never know.

A friend, who has adopted from Uganda herself, and who plans to move to Africa to work in an orphanage, told me that it will change me. She then recommended I watch a video from singer/songwriter Sara Groves, who went on a trip to Rwanda and was gripped by what she saw. The song and video “I Saw What I Saw”, are incredibly powerful, and even just watching this video, I realize I can’t prepare myself for what I will see. On the ground, visiting the clinics and water projects Blood:Water Mission supports and have helped build. The very projects I’ve helped raise money for, the very projects I’ve exchanged my own birthday presents for over the years. 

I am scared of the unknown. Again, I’ve never been out of the country, except to the Cancun area of Mexico, which is more like Disney’s Epcot Center. I’ve never been out of the comfort of the English language, the foods I’m accustomed to, the comfort of sleeping in a comfortable bed. I’ve never thought about how scared I’d be, until now. And that I am. Yes, I know it will be an amazing experience. Yes, I know it will change me forever, I want it to. I am looking forward to a better heart for my fellow man, to eliminate at least a fraction of my own selfishness. But I don’t think I’ll be ready even when I finally arrive. 

Today, I got my Yellow Fever and Typhoid vaccines, and my passport came in last week. A few more shots down, and the rest of the money raised, and I’m on my way to something I can not even imagine. I’m on the precipice of something very big. Something much bigger than the big I’ve known. 

If you haven’t donated, but are interested in helping, here’s the link: http://www.crowdrise.com/bwmuganda/fundraiser/jasondominy

If you can’t, it doesn’t hurt my feelings. I appreciate you just the same. Thanks for joining me on this journey.