to bind up the brokenhearted | a few things I learned in Pearl River

Hello all.

I'm in New York right now, in a little town called Pearl River about 45 minutes from New York City. This is where AIM (Africa Inland Mission) has its headquarters, and I've been here since yesterday afternoon. I met my team yesterday, which consists of me and 5 other girls ranging from 19 to 23. Please pray for them, if you are praying for my mission. Their names are: Bea, Alli, Amanda, Kristen, and Mackenzie. They're all amazing girls, and I am so excited to get to know them more and to share this experience with them, to serve alongside them. This is a great group; we got to talk a lot tonight and we're all from different backgrounds, such a variety of experiences. Half of us came from Christian homes, the other half didn't. Very interesting the way God works.

All of today has been encompassed by meetings, I think we had 8 or 9. From finances to cultural differences to worldview to travel info, we've had just about everything today. Yesterday I was so tired from the trip (and from the lack of sleep preceding the trip) that I fell asleep at about 7pm with all my clothes on and contacts, the whole bit. I slept for about 5 hours, woke up, changed into pj's, and then laid awake for about an hour. I did sleep another 5 hours or so, which was nice. We leave here tomorrow at 1pm for JFK airport and our flight is set to take off at 5:20. We have an 18 hour flight, which includes stopping in Senegal for about an hour, then on to Johannesburg (which from now on I will be referring to as JoBerg). We'll spend the night there on Thursday at a guest house. On Friday afternoon we fly out to Windhoek, Namibia's capital. We'll be there Sept. 12-19 for orientation/training, hopefully to be headed to Rehoboth on the 19th. It will be a long time coming!!

At the bottom of the post I made a map; first JoBerg, followed by Windhoek, then Rehoboth, is our plan. Just to give you a visual. :) I wanted to share just a few things that stood out from training today. Rae, our short-term coordinator, talked to us about the biblical basis of missions and what we really need to focus on and remember once we're out on the field. She read several passages from Isaiah, but this one really stood out:

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.

Isaiah 61:1-4

I love this description of what Jesus will do! It's incredible. He'll preach good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom for the captives. It's important to remember why we're here and especially when we're going out on missions. I think every believer everywhere is a missionary, some just have it as their sole occupation. :) Well, I can't talk much longer; lunch is soon and then we set off for the airport. Thank you all for your prayers, and please feel free to leave comments. God bless!!