At the moment I'm publishing this post, it's exactly 54 hours until I board a plane and go far, far away.
8,303 miles, to be exact, but who's counting?
Because a few of you asked, here are the details:
I fly out of Oklahoma at 12:45 pm on Sunday. I meet up with our whole Compassion team in Chicago, then we fly to Brussels, Belgium, arriving shortly after midnight (according to our body clocks; according to the real clock I've lost count). Then we take a long--LONG--flight to Africa, stopping to re-fuel in Kenya. Then we're on to Kampala, Uganda. The whole trip, including layovers (and not including delays) will take 33 and a half hours.
Oh my word.
I'm going to Africa.
Holy shmokes.
To my family, friends, and--most of all--my sweet Hubs, who are holding down my busy fort at home, THANK YOU so much for making this possible. And thanks to all of you who are, I know praying. It's working. I feel remarkably calm. It's been a productive week, and I'm ready. I've spent some sweet time with my kids and Hubs, and I've done a good bit of deep breathing, and praying. And I've thought a lot about what a lovely missionary in Uganda told me recently:
I remind myself daily that this is not a new world to God. He ordained the Ugandan's days just has he has mine and He has been at work drawing these to Himself long before I was even aware of the place. His sovereignty, patience and faithfulness are overwhelming. And He never fails. Hold tight to Him!!
Really, is there anything else to say? I don't think so.
So I'm signing off for now, though I'll be checking in at the first possible opportunity (maybe as early as Chicago, maybe not until Uganda--it will just depend on the logistics.) I don't know quite what to expect about any of this trip, but I know Who is going with me.
And that's enough.
