31st July 2026
Every chance I get I ask some of my fellow pastors if they would like to travel with me to Africa. I ask other people too. I want to go everywhere (and meet just about everyone) and I am always hopeful that the people I know will one day see the places I’ve seen.
Sometimes someone says yes to my travel proposal. I guess it’s best that all of my travel companions need to be approved first. Otherwise I might take all of my friends or anyone who comes along and says yes to a long set of flights and interesting new foods.
I recently started officially working with a young ministerial trainee who has a young wife and a young child, Josh Vazquez. He recently said YES to a trip to Zimbabwe! We leave for our trip very soon, August 5th. This will be Josh’s first time traveling to the African continent. In preparation for this adventure I asked Josh to write his first travel blog (also part of his training). Below is what he wrote. I hope you enjoy following our adventure.
-Lewis VanAusdle
The Beginning of a Journey: Guest Entry from Josh Vazquez, ministerial trainee for the United Church of God:
Believe it or not, this is the first time I’ve written a blog post! My name is Josh Vazquez, and up until about 2 months ago I was a high school math teacher. I taught Algebra 1 and Geometry to primarily ninth and tenth graders, a job that I had both a love and a hate relationship with. At the end of the 2026 school year, I left teaching to become a ministerial trainee for the United Church of God. A job that will allow me to do some of my favorite things in life: Serve and develop relationships with people, travel, and most importantly, study the Bible. It’s a journey that my wife, Ariana, and I are super excited about and really are looking forward to.
Now this isn’t why I am writing this blog, although I think it’s a good idea to introduce myself to anyone reading and provide an update on all of the massive changes in our lives.
I’m writing my first blog post today because a little over a month ago, Lewis (the pastor I am currently training with) and I were on the phone. He mentioned that our schedule for training was going to get disrupted because he was going to be leaving for Africa. Unfortunately he went on to tell me how he is going to be traveling by himself because the person he was supposed to go with was unable to come, which led to a pause… “Unless you want to come?…” I initially thought it would be an interesting opportunity. Then it kicked in when I looked at Ariana and our newborn baby and thought, how could I leave? So I told Lewis I would seriously consider it and let him know by the end of the week. For the next week Ariana and I talked, prayed, and thought about it. It’s so hard leaving our first born child at 3 months of age, but the decision was made.
I’M GOING TO AFRICA.
Why? Why am I willing to go to Africa and leave our baby at home?
Well first off, if it weren’t for Ariana encouraging me to go, I don’t think I would’ve gone despite the amazing opportunity. Still, even if she was encouraging, the question remains, “why did I want to go? Why am I going on this trip?” It may seem like I’m going way too far back in time here, but bear with me.
Growing up, I lived in a super diverse area with people from many different cultures and many walks of life. But at the time I didn’t realize it, that was just my life. As I got older, I made friends through sports, and they would often come over and spend the day playing basketball, hanging out, and then having dinner with us. My parents were always consistent about dinner: we all sat together, no distractions, and we had a rule that we needed to share one thing from the day. These friends that came over at first were so uncomfortable, but they kept showing up. They would show up all the time and then eventually they would ask and make sure that we were sharing that night.
After dinner my parents often drove these kids home, because they otherwise would have been walking home pretty far away late at night. Often when we got to their house, there would be no one home. And sometimes, if the door wasn’t left unlocked, these kids would have to climb through the window.
Now you may be asking what does this have to do with the trip to Africa?
Well two things.
The first thing is I had never realized how blessed I was to have the family that I have. A family that not only supported me but was generous enough and able to support and feed my friends. A family that was always there for me and was willing to go above and beyond for these kids in need.
The second thing is that as a kid, I didn’t know any better. That was my life. I didn’t think of how my friends never had parents at home. Their parents never knew where they were and yet none of that seemed weird to me. It just was what it was. Growing up in areas with diverse cultures and socioeconomic statuses gave me a perspective on the lives of others that I didn’t realize I had until I was an adult looking back on my childhood. As an adult, I’m so appreciative of the perspective those memories have given me. Which is why when Ariana and I got married and started our family, we agreed to take as many opportunities as we can to explore, serve, see the world, and meet people living lives very different from ours. Because with each new experience and with each new adventure, the perspective that you have on life and the world around you changes and becomes more complete. Which I believe is so important. It’s so easy in our day to day lives to become self-centered and focused on ourselves instead of others. It’s this mentality that prevents people from finding and showing love to others, which is one of the main things that brings purpose to our lives.
So when this opportunity to travel to Africa arose, the reason I was willing to leave my wife and 3-month-old for a week and a half was because I was excited to see firsthand what it’s like to be a Christian for someone who lives in Africa—a place very different from where I live in the Northeast United States. I expect that this trip to a new place, experiencing such a different culture is going to be very eye-opening and shift my perspective in a huge way. I’m so excited to get out there and meet the brethren, and to learn about their joys and struggles. The beautiful thing is we all have one thing in common—our faith—and it’s through sharing our differences of experience and broadening our perspective that we will be able to serve God and appreciate everything He does for us in a more meaningful way.
So, as Lewis and I prepare to leave next week, we’d appreciate the prayers for our travels, for the brethren, and for us as we embark on our journey.
With love and peace,
-Josh Vazquez
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