I've started this blog - "Underwood in Africa" - as a way of keeping a journal of the highs and lows and lessons along the way. I also hope that some of you will read along throughout the prep and travel and encounters - and pray for me!
I will join with seven other pastors, two missionaries, and two directors of missions for a seven-day trip to the Central African Republic.
On this map (left), the Central African Republic is right below Chad, in the very middle of Africa.
For the past three years or so, various people connected with our church have gotten involved in ministry opportunities and developed friendships within the C.A.R.
Hunter Frey (a young boy at our church) and his mother, Robin, have taken up the cause of helping orphans in this poverty-stricken country. In conjunction with a tremendous organization called ICDI, the Freys have helped raise awareness, financial support, gifts for children, and clean water opportunities for children and families in the C.A.R.
Bob Belohlavek, a former assistant pastor at our church, is on staff with ICDI now in the C.A.R.
Miriam Pacheco, the mother of our youth pastor (Dave Pacheco), has been to the C.A.R. numerous times with a terrific partnership ministry called Project Hope and Charite'. Miriam Pacheco and Barb Wooler visited our church in May, and our church now enters a partnership with a church in C.A.R. thanks to their ministry.
I could go on and on about the 'unique' connections God has brought together here - connections between our church and the Central African Republic. Our own Dave and Ruth Ann Martin now serve with Project Timothy, where people can sponsor African pastors-in-training. Dave Guiles, a missionary we have supported for decades, is now the director of Grace Brethren International Missions.
Speaking of Dave Guiles, he's the one who invited me along on this trip to Africa. As the trip approaches, I plan to write a blog every day (or less) to give more background and share details about the upcoming trip!
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