A flood of anxiety slammed into me. Yeah, it sounds like I’m trying to be dramatic, but even I couldn’t believe how scared I suddenly felt. As I boarded my flight to Rwanda, alone and tired at 11:45pm, a ton of feelings hit me. “Why didn’t I just choose an Asian country??” Any dark connotations of Africa that I had previously shrugged aside resurfaced in my mind. The stories of culture shock and homesickness felt like my future.

Praise God that He uses anxiety to teach the importance of giving thanks. I began to thank God for this opportunity to teach and be taught, for the people I would meet, and for His unending love. Along with plugging in to some Justin Biebs and messaging some people, I boarded the plane.

As unexpected was my anxiety, I could not explain the calm and happiness I felt as I stepped off the plane into the Kigali airport. Rwanda’s landscape is stunning, and on average there’s like 100 more smiles around you. Everyone stares at me like I’m either a cage animal or a celebrity. After a 3 hour scenic drive to the village in Musanze, I settled into PREFER’s beautiful compound with a picture perfect view of 5 nearby volcanoes. Cathy, PREFER’s director, has made me feel so welcome. I get my own room, shower with hot water, and eat delicious food. Cathy took me to this restaurant with rice, bananas, beans, collared greens, and beef. I honestly thought it tasted better than anything I ate in Italy. It’s gonna be a good summer.