Hope and a Future

Several months ago, one of the professors came by the office and said, "Hey, Kelly, I have this great opportunity to go to Sierra Leone. They have some folks in need of business skills and I think this may be a great chance to take some of our students there." After, I said the polite, "Oh, that is great! I can't wait to hear about your trip," and he went on his way, I had to "google" Sierra Leone. I was pretty sure he was talking about Africa, but I was not sure.

I know you are glad to know that I was right, it is in Africa. (You know, sometimes you do have to just look this stuff up!) Sierra Leone is a small country in on the west coast of Africa about 3 times the size of the Metroplex, but with about the same number of people.

So, low and behold, he went and returned and was very encouraged by the people he met there. He wanted to help people provide for themselve and their families. The people he met in Sierra Leone became attached to his heart.

Dr. O'Brien definitely has a heart for people - that is what all of the students say. I hear this over and over from students in his classes past and present. We began praying for an opportunity to take students to Sierra Leone so that they could experience first hand, people struggling for their very survival, but with hope and a future.

Hope and a future...sound familiar DBU friends? Our focal verse at DBU comes from Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Does God mean this verse just for those of us on the hill? Absolutely not! He plans for us all. He hopes for us all. In the Metroplex and in Sierra Leone.

Months of prayer, weeks of planning, days of frenzy and hours of preparation are leading Dr. O'Brien and a group of five students (Becca, Cami, Kerry, Fred and Peter) to go to a place on the other side of the world and see how God is working amongst the people of Sierra Leone. They will work with women finishing some job training to develop business plans to help them understand how to use the skills they have learned to provide for themselves and their families.

The DBU group will stay at the Hope Center

For me, I will only go as far as the airport when I drop them off on Thursday. My task will be a simple one, one I will undertake joyfully. First, I will be a diligent prayer warrior, for health and safety during their travel. Second, I will be the bearer of news. Dr. O'Brien plans to send me text messages as he can and I will relate them to "the list" (Cami is compiling this). My hope is that the blog format will be an effective and efficient means of communication.

If you are reading this blog, will you please pray for God's blessing on the people of Sierra Leone. Pray for health, safe travel and open hearts for Dr. O'Brien and our DBU students as well.