a short intro into how the trip to africa originated

it is a little disturbing when you do not feel like you have a good grasp of what you are teaching.
i am a world history teacher (i just finished my first year teaching world history). i know very little about the history of africa. as i was teaching this past year, i did some cursory research but my interest was piqued. as someone who loves to travel, the opportunity to go to africa has never been far from my mind. however, other places have for one reason or another come before africa.
with this year of teaching world history, africa rose to the front of my mind and i started to research different possibilities. i wanted to volunteer and did not want to raise money so that limited my options. my current gifting is not in construction or medicine so i knew that would not be the way to go. i love teaching and i wanted to see what opportunities were out there to teach.
through a friend, bill g. (who seems to know everyone), i was able to come in contact with christine n. (thanks, bill) who is a native of liberia, west africa, who was previously involved in the government there. she is a believer who loves God and has a passion for education in her country.
when visiting tracy, i was able to meet christine in los angeles (thanks, christine), and it was clear that our passions meshed well. we talked of different possibilities and it became increasingly evident that this was a great opportunity - and the opening i was looking for. she had started a school outside of monrovia, the capital of liberia, and i would be able to work with students and teachers.
after speaking with christine a few more times, doing some research, and praying, i decided to pursue this fantastic option. time has moved and i am scheduled to fly out tomorrow morning. i leave los angeles early in the morning (sunday) and i arrive in liberia monday night. needless to say, i will be spending a lot of time on planes and in airports. lax to houston to london to freetown to monrovia.