Journey into Africa

Ed Colina

 

Ed Colina, a former Catholic school educator and administrator, wanted something more out of his life. He found a mission in Kenya that created a village for children whose parents have died of HIV/AIDS. The mission needed him to work and teach in the village, where children are placed with grandparents in housing clusters and attend school. So he quit his job, gave away all his belongings and left for Africa in September 2007. Colina kept an online account of his experiences and impressions, and excerpts of the blog are included here. The web site is at www.emcjourney.blogspot.com.

Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2007
MY JOURNEY BEGINS
It has been a crazy ride for the past few months. It is mid-January and I have made the irrational decision to leave my great job as a school administrator and to somehow connect with the poor and those struggling to live a meaningful life. It is awesomely exciting and not at all scary. Perhaps that will come but certainly not frightening now and for that I am grateful. Beginning in the summer of 2006, Chris (a good friend) and I traveled all over Italy and parts of Switzerland (Chris thinks it was Sweden) and it was during that time that God might have found an opening. Funny how nature and beautiful places can do that. Shortly after our return to the United States, I read a book, “The Irresistible Revolution,” by Shane Claiborne. Things came alive and I woke up. I read and read and began to talk to some key people to prove to myself that I was not crazy. A five-day retreat over New Year’s in New Mexico helped to solidify my desire.  And so I made the break and told the folks at work that I would be leaving at the end of the school year. But I have nowhere to go. I am looking at local and global connections. Everything is on the table. I have about four months to figure out where I can work before the paychecks stop. But still, there is no fear. "The opposite of faith is not doubt, it's fear." And so I try to stick with faith.

 

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