AFRICA...HERE WE COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE LEAVE IN 3 DAYS!!! OH MY GOODNESS! :) I am SO incredibly excited and can’t believe I’ll be in Africa SO SOON!  GOD IS GREAT!! :)

We are ALL packed and have everything READY to GO!! ---At least I think? :) I’m sure we will find some more last minute items to pack and bring along with us in the morning!  Tomorrow morning, we are heading go the cities to stay with our older sister, Steph, and then will be flying out to Washington, D.C. Saturday morning!  We’ll have the afternoon and night in D.C. and then will meet with our team early Sunday morning for breakfast and then will fly out to AFRICA from there! :)  Can you believe it?  I CAN! After all of these years of having a heavy heart and passion for the children of Africa…After all of my prayers and cries to God…After all of my “God, I’m here! I’m willing to go—send me!!”  …I am FINALLY going!!! WAAHOOOO!  All along God heard my cries and He heard my prayers!  And of course—like always—His timing is PERFECT!  I am SO happy to be going on this trip and I am even more excited about the fact that I get to go with my sweet sister!  We both love and enjoy spending time with children.  We’re both going to school at SMSU to earn a degree in Education where we can be around and teach children on a daily basis.  Shelby has always been such a special person in my life—and not just because she’s my sister! ;) We truly have a special bond and I am so excited to strengthen that bond by going on this trip TOGETHER! :)  I had explained how God led me to Visiting Orphans in my very first post.  Shelby was at that concert with me as well and she saw how excited I was about it.  We never really got into the details while we were at the concert…but after getting home and looking up Visiting Orphans…I KNEW I was meant to go.  At the time—I was signed up to go all by myself, but I just didn’t have a peace about it.  I was excited to go but I strongly felt like she was supposed to go with me.  I was a little nervous about bringing it up to her because I knew we would have a hard time coming up with the money.  But night after night and day after day I just didn’t have this peace about going by myself—I strongly felt that SHE was supposed to go with!  So I talked to her about it and right away she was on board and was EXCITED too! :)  I can’t imagine going on this journey without her and I look forward to living out God’s plan with her by my side!

And yes—we had to get shots! …SEVEN to be exact!  Shelby and I both are not a fan of blood…needles…shots…etc...etc. BUT we both knew we could do this if it meant going to love on God’s children, so we did!  Here is a picture of us after we got them! Ooooohhhh were our arms SORE!!  Now I know how kids feel after they get theirs! :( 

Shelby and I have been super busy packing and running around finishing up on all of our last minute details!  This week has seriously just gone by SO fast!  Monday and Tuesday night I had Mary Kay events and got to see my Director, Rachel!  She is SUCH a great girl!  She was able to send SO many donations home with me!  I’m SO thankful for her! :) My Aunt Jody, Gramma Marvel and friend Heidi also dropped off some donations for us to take!  Shelby and I are SO thankful for ALL of you—and we really do appreciate your donations to take to the children! Oh how they are going to LOVE them! :) Thank you for your giving hearts!! 

Included in the picture of donations are: a ton of Christian children books, 32 bars of soap, pens and pencils, color pencils and crayons, candy, wipes, Ziploc bags, toothpaste, Mary Kay:) Sunscreen and Lip Balm, pads of paper, and embroidery floss! 

THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!

I also wanted to share my time at Joyful Noise 2 weeks ago!  I was able to go with Patrick and my parents and we met my aunt and uncle there.  It was a GREAT time of worship and praise.  The whole time I was there I couldn’t stop thinking about how I’d be in Africa in 2 weeks!!  Brandon Health & Casting Crowns were there and shared a little bit about Compassion International which is ALL about helping and loving on children in need!  My aunt sponsored a child that day and my mom signed up a few weeks ago to sponsor a child as well—how AWESOME! :) ..That’s ONE LESS…One less child going without food and without care!!  What a difference it will make to that child!! 

Me & Patrick!

 My mom & Aunt Jamie!

Lastly, here are a few pictures of Casting Crowns…They are AWESOME! Honestly—Soooo good!!  If you have not gone and seen them in concert you MUST! You won’t be let down! :)

Have a good night and please continue to keep myself, Shelby and our team members in your prayers!  We’ll need them and we appreciate them—SO SO much! :)  I will try to blog as often and as much as I can while I am there but not sure just how much that will be! So, you’ll have to stay posted in case it does work out! I’d LOVE to share with all of you our experience!! 

One more thing…Here is our Itinerary for when we are in Africa!  I thought I’d share this with you since you might be interested in following along with where we are each day! :)

Uganda Portion Itinerary

Date	Day	Activity
Sunday June 26th	Day 1	D.C. crew will meet at 6:30 AM for breakfast and depart for the airport by 8AM. Check-in by 9AM. Entire team will fly out of the Dulles airport on Ethiopian airlines at 12:00 PM for Addis Ababa airport in Ethiopia.
Monday June 27th	Day 2	Arrive in Ethiopia at 7:45AM; depart for Entebbe at 10:50AM. Arrive at Entebbe airport at 12:50 PM. Depart to Kampala (2 hr. drive). Check-in to the Namirembe Guest House. Exchange money, use internet. Rest some, sort through orphanage donations, dinner & devotions with the team.
Tuesday June 28th	Day 3	Breakfast at Namirembe. Spend the day ministering with the children at SixtyFeet (children’s prison). Dinner with team at Namirembe.
Wednesday June 29th	Day 4	Breakfast at Namirembe. Spend the morning ministering with the children at SixtyFeet (children’s prison). Eat a quick lunch at Namirembe. Spend the afternoon with Rebecca Sorensen and the children at My Father’s House. Dinner at Namirembe.
Thursday June 30th	Day 5	Breakfast at Namirembe. Depart to Jinja at 9AM. Spend the day with Godfrey and the children at Pillars of Hope. Check into King Fisher Resort. Drive to Amani Baby Cottage and spend time with the babies from 4-6:00 PM, help feed them dinner & put them to bed. Dinner at King Fisher.
Friday July 1st	Day 6	Breakfast at King Fisher. Spend the day with the Karamajong’s with Pastor Andrew. Shopping, internet & coffee in Jinja. And have dinner with the team.
Saturday July 2nd	Day 7	Breakfast at King Fisher. Drive to Amazima ministries to work with Katie Davis and her feeding program until 3 PM. Drive to Kampala & check-in at the Namirembe hotel. Sort through donations for Kenya ministries, dinner, devotion & relaxation with the team.
Sunday July 3th	Day 8	Breakfast with team at 7:00 AM and check-out of Namirembe. Attend Church with Pastor Samuel and the children at Return Ministries. Arrive at Entebbe airport at 2:30 PM for check-in. Depart to Addis at 5:30 PM.

Kenya Portion Itinerary

Monday July 4th	Day 9	Arrive in Nairobi at 1 AM. Take mini-bus (2 hour drive) to Hope Community Center orphanage and grab a bunk. Breakfast with the team between 9-10AM. Spend the morning with the children. Teach a VBS and eat lunch with the children. Dinner with the team.
Tuesday July 5th	Day 10	Breakfast with the team, spend the day with children at Hope Community Center and say goodbye. Depart to Nakuru at 3PM (2 hour drive). Arrive at Fiwagoh Orphanage & spend time with Pastor Benson and the children, eat dinner and grab a bunk.
Wednesday July 6th	Day 11	Breakfast with the team. Spend the morning with children at Fiwagoh orphanage with Pastor Benson. Eat lunch with the children and teach a VBS. Dinner and devotions with the team.
Thursday July 7th	Day 12	7AM breakfast with the team, depart to Eldoret by 8AM (3 hour drive).  Arrive at Grace of God Children’s Home and eat lunch at Christ Restoration Church. Spend the day with the children & teach a VBS. Eat dinner with the children and the team. Check-in to Hotel in Eldoret City (TBD). Rest & relax the rest of the evening with the team.
Friday July 8th	Day 13	7AM breakfast with the team and spend the morning with children at Grace of God Children’s Home. Eat an early lunch and say goodbye to children. Depart for Nairobi by 11AM (6 hour drive) and check-in to a Hotel/Guest House (TBD). Dinner and trip re-cap with team.
Saturday July 9th	Day 14	Breakfast at hotel. Shopping at market in Nairobi. Arrive at the Nairobi airport for check in by 2:45 PM. Flight leaves at 5:45 PM for Addis. Depart Addis at 10:15PM for the States!
Sunday July 10th	Day 15	Arrive in D.C. at 8:40AM. Depart for home! Your trip has changed your life and touched the lives of hundreds of orphans in Uganda & Kenya! THANK YOU all for your servant hearts!! We hope you will join us again!