One week left!

Well, everything is wrapping and we will be leaving from the Houston airport in one week. God has been using this trip to Africa to change alot of peoples' lives; people who I never thought would be affected by it. It's wonderful, and we aren't even there yet.

But we will be there on June the 2nd, and once we are there we will have a week of language training and an orientation where they basically prepare us for the next two months in every way that they can. "They" being the missionaries who are there that will be taking care of us and guiding us.

I have not stopped recieving donations and notes through mail from people who are supporting this trip. There has been so much support and I am thankful to everyone who has helped me, and to everyone who is praying. I know that God is preparing us all right this very second for the tasks that he has specifically for each one of us in Africa. We are all going to be called to work in different ways for his kingdom and I am very very certain that he is already preparing me, and he has been since March when I committed to go. What he has in store for us I cannot imagine, and I know that it will be nothing that I expect.

Today my dad gave me good advice. He told me to stay stronge in my body, in my mind, and in my spirit, because the best way to serve others is to do it as someone who is healthy and stronge and in tune with what the Lord is leading you into.

There is no worry existing inside of me right now. I have tried to explain this to others, describing it as a "supernatural peace" that He has given me. As a person who is usually afraid of simple social interactions, I am fearless about living in Africa for two months. That is hard to understand. But at the same time, it's not, because He has made it very clear that I am supposed to be there this summer, as well as my good friend. It has been a crazy trip for her and I but through this entire process, we are more and more convinced each day that the Lord has a plan and a purpose and He wants us specifically to be in Africa this summer. That reassurance has not always been there for me. When I first committed to going to Africa, I saw it as an opportunity that I was taking advantage of. But it has become more than that- it has become a part of His plan and a very specific plan that He is calling me for.

It is easy to get stressed out about last minute things that have to be taken care of, but at the same time, there is no point. I already know that everything will be taken care of on time, even though I still don't have my Visa or my airline tickets or my passport. Ha! It's ok though, I know that everything will work out. All of these things should come in the mail before we leave. They only thing I have left to do is get a backround check run on me.

I received some sporty things from my family, like some underwear that dries super fast after you wash it, within two hours! How amazing. What a great invention. I also got a hat and a cool purse that I can keep all my passport/ticket/visa stuff in for when I am in the airports. So thank you family for these practical gifts!

They want us to bring enough gatorade to drink 16 oz a day. My mom and I were disturbed when we heard this, until we realized that they make those little powder packets of gatorade that you add to your water. I was wondering how we would transport that much liquid, but we don't have to- just the packets, so that's good news!

I will spend the next week packing and such, and if I do not post before I leave, which I will try to, then I will post for sure before the second week in June, while I am there.

Peace until then