When I think back to a year ago, it feels more like years than a mere 12 months. I remember the day I received the paper from the state of California telling me that Imani Care International was incorporated. Aka - there was an organization that I had created that now existed. Just because it existed really didn't mean anything aside from there being a public record on file. But to me, it was everything. It was terrifying, yes. I did not want to fail. I did not want to tell people I had started a charity and then 6 month later, watch the whole thing fall apart (or worse, never even build something to have fall apart). Yet there were 2 specific voices that equated to me having the courage to face my fears and pouring myself into Imani. God. And my dad.
I find it significant that they are both fathers - one Heavenly, one Earthly. There are just a handful of life-changing decisions I have had to make in my life thus far. The two that specifically come to mind are deciding where to go to college and deciding to start a non-profit. I knew I was supposed to go to Seattle Pacific University because I had wanted to go to Point Loma so bad. I just thought everything about Point Loma was perfect - a good nursing program, a smaller, private school, a beautiful campus right on the beach, the best weather, still within the state of California and visiting distance, and a substantial scholarship. I only went to visit Seattle because my parents thought it was a good idea and I thought it would be a good chance to reinforce my decision to go to Point Loma. And then....as I stepped off of the plane in Seattle, I knew. I cannot exactly describe it in words....it had been raining but in that moment, the clouds had cleared a little bit and the sun was glimmering through as it was setting. And I just had this all-consuming peace that only comes from God that this was going to be my home for the next 4 years.
It was a similar experience with Imani. Once I had returned from Kenya and was getting ready to start senior year, I was convinced that conventional nursing was not for me, and that somehow I was just going to move halfway across the world and be a nurse. I was so set on this that I really didn't apply to very many jobs. I didn't want to "get stuck." Yet deep in my heart, God was nudging me and kept pointing out the few "hiccups" in my plan. First, he questioned some of the logistics. So where are you going to live? How will you pay for food and clothes and transportation? What about the language barrier? Will you keep renewing your Visa or will you try to become a resident? Will your nursing license even be valid over there? Although they were all valid questions to which I did not have a good answer, it wasn't until I heard God say, Alyssa, they don't need another set of hands. What they really need is someone to tell their story, someone to pray for them and encourage them, and someone to secure more resources. Ouch! They didn't need a nurse - they needed a partner, an advocate, a friend.
At first, I didn't really know what to do with this realization. Suddenly, being a nurse in a slum clinic in Kenya seemed incredibly selfish. I knew other people probably would not see it that way, but deep within my heart, I knew if I took that course of action, on some level, I would be pursuing a selfish desire. The idea of starting an organization did not come immediately....it just kind of trickled its way in. Every now and again I would think well maybe if there was a charity that could help the clinic.....so I searched for "that charity." I couldn't find it. Sure, there were countless non-profit organizations out there, but they all had some sort of limitation. And then the thought came...well maybe I need to start my own organization. I wish I had more memory on my phone so I could go back and find the day that I sent this text message, but I know it was some time in the first half of May 2012. This was the paraphrased dialogue.
Alyssa: "On a scale of 1 - 10, which 10 being extremely difficult, how hard is it to start a non-profit organization?"
Dad: "8, if you do it right."
Though there are many times in my life where I wanted my dad to be less matter of fact and more endearing, this was not one of those times. I did not text my best friends or my mom or my sister. I knew that there was one person I needed to ask, and I knew it had to be my dad. I did not want to ask him, because I knew he would tell me the truth. I feared he would say "10" and then proceed to tell me all the reason why that was not a good idea or why it would never work.
Dad, I will never be able to thank you enough for that text message. Yes, it was brief and to the point, but it said so much. It said that it wasn't impossible. It said you would ensure that if I did anything, it would be done right. And it said that you weren't going to talk me out of it.
That's really all I needed to hear. Within weeks, I was contacting attorneys, looking up everything I could find about starting an organization, and laughing at how crazy the whole notion was - especially in the midst of finals, studying for NCLEX, graduating college, and moving. But I knew I had at least two people in my corner. God, who had lead me to this crazy adventure in the first place, and my dad, who had confirmed that yes it would take a lot of hard work, dedication, time, and money, but that I could do it and he would support me through the process.
So as Imani celebrates its first year, I want to extend my eternal gratitude to God and to my dad. Without them, Imani Care International would not exist.
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