in dondo

about 30 minutes ago we arrived here in dondo and are now settling in. flights went well and the setup was wonderful. we stayed in joburg last night with some very wonderful people and slept really well. everyone is healthy and feeling well...we are rested and ready to take it all in!

in atlanta

we have landed in atlanta and are now awaiting the big flight to joburg in just a few hours. the rest of the group is pretty much asleep...ok maybe just the oldest member...but the other 2 are pretty close.
we are so thankful for this opportunity...i've already filled a half a page of notes in my journal for how to make the experience the best for the teens next year.
now i find myself just hoping that...
1. there are no crying babies near us on the plane...or
2. that they cry with their mouth open long enough for me to throw a benadryl pill down their throat

:)

Friday Night...

Cor is out mowing grass right now. Mariska is busy sniffing everything. I'm doing laundry... theoretically... (or blogging, but anyways!) Here are a few volunteer crew pictures from our day at the Summit...
Now Mariska is running around like a crazy-thing and Cory has decided to stop mowing grass because he couldn't see where he was mowing anymore. Our yard is always... interesting... a few weeks ago we had a big check mark mowed into our back yard for a few days.

Here's some pics of our building progress. They brought the steel in yesterday and it ALL went up today. It was CRAZY how fast the skeleton emerged!

Sweet! I'm off to take some malaria meds...

lots to process

this past week has been an absolute roller coaster as we get ready to leave for mozambique tomorrow. it's always busy before a trip like this, but i really tried to pack in some meetings that i knew if we didn't do now we wouldn't until september. it's been emotionally exhausting and draining...but good and needed. hurting families, lonely people...tough stuff. but yesterday started the 2 day leadership summit at lakeshore. great stuff and truly energizing and refreshing. it's given me so much to process and try to unpack, and the one session especially was so profound that i know it's going to be occupying my thoughts for the months to come. i'm really excited to sit and soak up all that God has on this final day...and try not to think about some of the details that still need to be done by tomorrow. i feel so thankful for a church that values solid leadership training for its leaders and for the incredible infusion the summit gives us every year!

We're leaving Soon!!!

We're leaving soon!
We're leaving soon!

We leave in LESS than a week for Mozambique. We had our official packing party last night! Everything, plus a few extras got squeezed in! (Chief Command"er" - Those weighing devices are AWESOME! Just don't jerk or it adds a few extra pounds.) We had to pack some stuff we'll need this week so we can weigh them as accurately as possible. So, Cory has been making a list of every item he removes from a bag and what needs to be replaced. I love my uber-organized husband. Before the packing party yesterday, I made him review everything I planned to pack to make usre I was thinking logically... he rolled his eyes a few times, but we made it through! :)

I always get a little nervous when we travel. Not that I'll die - but if everything is in order if I do die. Does everyone have the right paperwork? Is my toilet clean enough? Are my old journals from high school hidden so only my sister will find them? You know - the important stuff. :) This week is going to be really crazy... work, leadership summit, mariska, cleaning, last minute errands (library, bank, groceries, mariska stuff,...) Thankfully, the busyness will make the week fly by and we'll be on our way before we know it!

At one of our team meetings, we discussed what made us the most apprehensive about being in mozambique... I think my fears/worries/whatever-you-want-to-call-them have been like a revolving door. They just keep changing. At first it was the food and using a "bathroom" like Patti described to me... then, it became spiritual warfare... then seeing orphans and my selfish heart breaking... now... well, its kinda all there - swirling around in the back of my head. Not quite real yet - just vague little naggings where I've been practicing trust and letting them go. Its been pretty cool for me. We'll see how it goes when I'm "happily" eating a UFO (unidentified food object) OR staring into the eyes of a mother dying from aids, knowing she has children who need her...

Overall though - as I think about the trip - it doesn't feel extraordinary. We're going to see our friends - the Bushes and Val and others we've heard about, but have yet to meet. I'm so excited to visit with our friends and to play with the kids. At the same time, I KNOW we'll be experiencing some amazing stuff. (Hello! We're going to A*F*R*I*C*A!) That God will be changing me and tugging my heart more deeply in love with Him. I've been praying that God will break me - that my intimacy with him will reach depths I haven't known before. I don't know how it will happen, most likely, how I least expect it... And I'm so excited!