The Night Before... Christmas?

Here it is! It's the night before, and I can not even begin to express the joy and comfort and peace the Lord has given me!

I've had a lot of my biggest goodbyes this week - mainly the dinner with my absolute, hands-down, very best friend, Sarah Elizabeth. I drove there expecting it to be one of the hardest moments that I'd encounter, but somehow I didn't shed a tear. The entire two hours we spent at the little hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant in Hempstead was so joyful that there was no room for sadness. I was blown away at the realization of how much she has come to mean to me. And thought it'll be strange to not have her by my side for the first time in 3 years, God just gave me such comfort and assurance that - duh - this isn't the end, it's just a little distance. I'm so thankful that the relationships that mean so much to me will undoubtedly extend over whatever distance comes between us.

I think a large part of the strength that I've had these past few days has also been thanks to my parents. My parents are absolutely incredible, by the way. Watching as the Lord gives them such peace about this has been so wonderful and so encouraging to me. It is amazing what a difference it makes to have such complete support from them and have them backing me every step of the way, and I cannot even begin to thank them enough for the strength that I have because of them.

To everyone who has supported my family and I in this time, thank you. Thank you for your prayers, your words of encouragement and comfort, and your support. And may our God be praised - the Prince of Peace, the Great Comforter, the God who never changes, our Faithful Father, the Everlasting God. He is so good :)

So here I go. I'm packed, I'm ready, and I'm wide-awake. And praise God, it is well with my soul...

And the Countdown Continues...

9 days. Wow. Time has flown a little, dragged a little, but either way, it has passed, and Africa stands just over a week away. Incredible.

I spent the weekend with friends saying hellos and goodbyes and playing like crazy. I went to Lake Conroe and played around Saturday and the first part of Sunday. Rode jet skis for the first time, wakeboarded for the first time, and spent two days wondering how I could manage buying jet skis in Africa. I love them. The time there was so sweet - I was able to spend time with amazing friends who I haven't seen in a while and laughed harder than I had all summer. At one point, after Ryan threw me off the jet ski, I couldn't swim back because I couldn't stop laughing. It was the first little blissful moment I can remember in a long, long time.

Then, thanks to the fact that Friday was my last day of work, I was able to spend Sunday, Monday, and part of Tuesday in CS playing and laughing and acting colleg-y again. I didn't really sleep, but the lack of it was worth it.

Goodbyes were hard. It was difficult leaving the world that has grown so dear to me and so comfortable, but I am so blessed in that God has been so faithful in reminding me about what is ahead. One second I'm dreading everything I'm leaving, and the next second I can hardly contain my excitement in all that I'll see and be a part of and experience, and being able to witness firsthand the work that God is undoubtedly doing in that land. There are more goodbyes to come, and though they're going to be heartbreaking, it's only for a bit, and it's for the best reason I can think of.

So let the countdown continue, and let God's peace and joy increase in me all the more!

Great is Thy Faithfulness...

God has been so sweet lately in filling my life with reminders of His Faithfulness! Support has been coming in from unexpected places (including a $1,000 rebate from Texas A&M that I have no idea how I managed to get, WHOOP!) and everything just seems to be falling into place. I had breakfast with Jamie Bauknight (she's also going to Kenya with AIM), a weekly ritual, and it was so wonderful to hear about how God is providing so faithfully. I was getting so excited hearing about it that I could hardly sit still in my squeaky Chick-fil-A booth! I often have to remind myself not to be quite so surprised at it all - for this is our God :)

I've gotten a lot done in the past two weeks - finished my shots, bought luggage (at super discounted prices), bought a year's worth of toiletries and contacts (at Sam's - so super discounted prices; also, this is a very fun thing to do - I felt like I was preparing for hurricane season or Armageddon or something!), finished all of my AIM/RVA paperwork, applied for an international drivers liscence (that should be interesting... first time I drove a standard, I drove over a barbed-wire fence... hopefully I'll do better on the other side of the road?), and - most importantly - bought my first pair of Chacos (at a super discounted price). I've done a lot more too, but those are things I'm super proud of.

Anyways, I just wanted to let everyone know how faithful God is. It's beautiful to watch, and I pray that you see it tomorrow and in the coming days!

RVA Orientation: Day 4

So this is a little late coming, but I just hate leaving things unfinished. Day 4 was fabulous. We had a round-table discussion with two previous RVAers - one was the superintendent for about 5 or 6 years, and they had both done just about every position possible. It was a great opportunity to find out more about the school, the kids, my co-workers, what to expect, etc.

Afterwards, we had a luncheon with all of the AIM staffers, short-termers shared testimonies and prayer requests, and then they sang us out. After pictures and soaking up the last bits of cool weather, we said goodbye to our newfound AIM family, and off to the airport we went.

I cannot thank God enough for the people He placed in my life up there. It was so fantastic meeting all of the staffers who have been helping me from the beginning and working so hard to put this trip together for all of us. It was so encouraging to see their love for the Lord, their patience in their work, and their support in our lives. I now feel 100 times more ready to go and can't wait to see what God has waiting in Kenya :)

The next five weeks will be filled with doctor's appointments, packing, unpacking, and packing again, support raising, goodbyes to last a year, and much much more. But God willing, five weeks from today, I will be landing in Nairobi, figuring out how to not lose all of my money paying bribes at the airport, and stepping into the land that I've been dreaming of for five years. How sweet it is :)

RVA Orientation: Day 2 & 3

These past two days have been incredibly busy and exhausting, but encouraging and exciting beyond what I ever imagined!

Yesterday we had our psych evals and looked at our personality test results, and apparently I passed and am safe to go to Africa, praise God! I was amazed at how right-on it was in describing my personality, and I'm excited to see God teach me and grow me throughout the next year as we work on my personal goals :) I feel so grown up and official...

We also had group-building time and played some fun little games, including hacky sack (which I am terrible at, in case you're wondering...) and a woofle (?) ball game that we rocked. Afterwards, we split up into ministry groups (so the 7 RVA people were together) and answered fun little questions and got to know each other a little more. In case I haven't said it enough, God has been so gracious in blessing me with absolutely fantastic people to work with and I am out of my mind thankful for each one of them and the encouragement they've brought!

A few of us walked up to a little corner store afterwards, which was shocking for me because I made it all the way there without sweating - I don't think I get 2 feet in July in Texas without bordering on a heat stroke. The weather was beatiful and the fireflies were out (some may or may not have been eaten...), so it was a perfect summer night. I love it here...

Today we had a lot of meetings and lectures on culture and worldview, banking, travel and what the Bible says about missions. Parts of it were a bit like college lectures and I had trouble focusing without my crosswords there, but other sessions were exhilerating as I thought about trying to get through customs and flying overseas and packing and whatnot. I'm a bit worried the Africans will peg me as a first-time-international-flier and note the fact that I have no idea what I'm doing and get away with hundreds of dollars in bribes, but I think I'll just practice beforehand or something.

I got an email this morning from the RVA Superintendent asking me to teach 7th or 8th grade English and/or be a 9th grade dorm parent. Gasp. In case you've forgotten, my degree is in elementary, and while I love love love English, I've never taught it, so this is definitely going to be a challenge. Definitely. But I'm insanely excited as I... well, love love love English, so I'll probably head home and start studying up on grammar skills and whatnot. It's funny, up until about a year or two ago I was terrified of the thought of teaching junior high, but I've slowly come to really like that age, and now God seems to be opening a door that He's began to prepare me to walk through. I'm pumped, to say the least.

Things are really starting to hit - there's a team here that leaves tomorrow and thinking about their situation sort of helps me to visualize what I'll be doing in just over a month, and it's exhilerating and terrifying at the same time, but a good terrifying, if that makes sense... It'll be strange going home after I feel so prepared being here, but I have a ton to do before we leave, so the time is sure to fly... eek...

Anyways, it's bed time. Or something. So goodnight all :)

RVA Orientation: Day 1

So last night I officially felt like a 6th grader going to summer camp. RVA Orientation is this week (today-Wednesday) in New York, and I knew I wouldn't know anyone going up, and I had no idea what to expect about activities/housing/people/anything, so I was ridiculously nervous. But praise the Lord, it has been fantastic!

The nerves really kicked in at the Newark airport in New Jersey when I was at baggage claim; I was waiting for my baggage and the taxi driver to pick me up and started panicking, realizing I was far away and about to go through all of this without anyone there to hold my hand through it and it just felt like the first REAL step towards Africa and like it was already beginning and thinking about all of this made it a little difficult to breathe and see straight. I met the taxi driver and he immediately pegged me as a Texan because I was "so friendly." Apparently when he was in the Navy a million years ago he met a Texan who was the friendliest person he'd ever met and it shocked him so much that he hasn't forgotten her since. And apparently he'll remember me forever too? I was nervous - I talked a lot. Apparently New Yorkers don't do that.

Got to AIM Headquarters, driver dropped me off at the front office, and I realized it was locked. Lights off. No one answering the door. I tried a couple other doors, and no one answered there either. I saw no signs of people, so I felt a little abandoned. That's awkward. Luckily, someone happened by and let me in, so I sat in my room alone for a couple hours reading and napping and everyone else showed up about 3 hours later. At least they came...

Anyways, I've met an old Ag (c/o '79) who decided we should have Muster while over there. He's GREAT. There are four older adults (two couples) and they're great and so fun to watch, and two other girls - 23 and 24 - who will be teaching at RVA as well, praise God.

Anyways, all of this to say God has been so gracious in reassuring me that things are going to be more than okay. It's scary - and the whole "I'm living in Africa for a year" thing is starting to really hit, making me insanely nervous, but I'm so so thankful to have these people beside me with the same concerns and anxieties, but the same passions and excitements as well.

This is going to be great. :)

So Saturday I met with my AIM contact, Jim Harding for a little bit just to discuss what's going on and what I should expect. He worked at RVA for 23 years, so I was so blessed to be with him as he had all sorts of stories and advice to tell me. Apparently a favorite pasttime among the students is to catch flies, tie a piece of hair into a lasso, lasso the fly, and fly it around. I'm going to love Africa...

He also told me all about the ministry opportunities there with both the students and the community. As he talked about the Kenyans and ways to get involved with them, I could hardly sit still and keep myself from jumping out of my chair with excitement... I'm going to love Africa!

Support's coming along - I have about 40% of my finances, praise God! I also bought a new suitcase (Burlington Coat Factory = cheap/good luggage heaven, so I got it for like 1/3 of the original price), so I think I'll practice packing tonight. I'm a little excited... And I get to go look for long skirts this week - so exciting!

I just finished reading Richer by India - an autobiography about a missionary wife in India, and reading her stories and real encounters and being reminded of my ability to share the Gospel is all thrilling - it's slowly but surely reminding me that this is real and, if you can't tell, I'm getting extremely excited... :)