Countdown

So it is exactly 9 weeks, 3 days, 6 hours, and 18 minutes until I will be sitting on a plane at DIA preparing myself for the journey of a lifetime. We will first be flying to the London airport via a 9 hour flight. Any of you who know me know that I get extremely clausterphobic on planes and that it is near impossible for me to sleep on them. I'm a little nervous to say the least. The longest flight I think I have been on is maybe a 3 or 4 hour flight? While I am sitting here trying to picture the kind of emotions that I will be experiencing that day, July 4th, I am realizing it is not possible to prepare myself for this experience. Any expectations I go into Uganda with, I expect them to be blown out of the water. And while I am going down there with my sister and best friend, we are all going to have such different emotions and experiences even though we will be seeing the same things. My response to people asking me if I am excited has changed from, "Oh my gosh, yes!! SO excited!" to "yeah...I am excited, but I am definitely nervous, don't get me wrong." So why this change in emotions? I don't know, I think God is trying to prepare my heart and He is doing that by allowing it to ache to just be landing in Entebbe, Uganda. He is also allowing me to see things in a different light, where all I can say is "ughh, I just want to be in Africa" anytime something negative happens here. What is the most interesting to me is trying to picture myself when I return to the states from Africa. I am already currently revolving my life around this trip; telling everyone around me about it, constantly adding up how much money I have raised, just trying to get through each day knowing that it is one day closer to July 4th. What will life be like post-Africa? Well, stay tuned for that in August :)

Really what I am asking of people now, please pray. Pray for my heart to continue to be prepared for what this experience has in store for me. Pray that God uses my hands to farm their land, my smile to bring that happiness to others, and my heart to break in order to heal the hearts of others.

Thank you everyone for so much support so far! We just got a packet in the mail from Come Let's Dance which has some videos and their documentary. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to have a chance to watch either of them to get an idea of the amazing things this organization is doing.

Dear Family and Friends,

I wanted to let you all know that I will be traveling to Uganda, Africa this summer for the entire month of July. Most of you probably know that this has been a life long dream of mine that is actually becoming a reality! I never thought this dream would come true, but through my attendance of a documentary called Mzungu created by Come Let’s Dance I met the founder of the organization, Shane Gilbert. After talking with her and seeing how the country’s problems are impacting the communities I felt a desire to somehow serve these people; which is the exact opportunity I have been presented with.

The organization Come, Let’s Dance is a 501( c )3 non-profit based out of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, which has an orphanage project and supports community development and self sustainability within communities in Uganda. Their website is http://www.comeletsdance.org/ and it shows a lot about the organization. We will be staying in the town/village of Nansana, right outside of the capital of Uganda, Kampala. They just started a school that opened in February of 2011, so there are a lot of exciting things going on in this organization. We will not be positive until the start of each day exactly what we will be doing down there. Some options will include working in the school, Wakiso International Christian Academy, providing assistance in the Medical Clinic, working on a 20-acre farm, Slum Outreach in a “Thread of Life Sewing Shop”, or a Village Outreach.

I could not feel more blessed to be given this opportunity to provide help in all of these areas. Obviously though, it is going to be very costly. While it is not going to cost much to live down there for a month, I have to get down there first J. I would greatly appreciate simply prayers for our experience while we are there, but would be oh so appreciative as well if you feel called to give and want to help me financially in any way at all. I am expected to raise around $3500 to cover costs of travel and housing. If anyone feels called to give, I would be forever grateful.

If anything, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pray for our team and myself. Pray for all of the finances to come through. Pray that my heart continues to be prepared for what God has in store. Pray for the people of Uganda-- that they may be opened to what God will do in their lives. Pray for others we will encounter on our journey there-- that our group may be a great example of His love and peace.