Here We Go!

Night has fallen on my last day in Kansas (for 10 months anyway). I had a great day hanging out with my family and eating a ton of my mothers amazing food!... I'm definitely feeling a mixture of extreme excitement and kinda scared at the same time!.... It's hard to believe I'm finally going, it seemed like this day would never come.

I really hope that I get a lot closer to God though this experience. I hope that there are days I can just go out into the savanna with my Bible, a journal, my camera and just chill with God and get to know Him!... I've gotten a lot of encouragement from people the past few days, and I know it's been the Holy Spirit speaking through them, and that has been very comforting to me. This is a huge step for me, and I trust in God that He will be faithful to be with me through every bit of it and give me a whole new perspective on life.... God's blessed my life so much. Wonderful family and friends, provision for all of my needs, and now this once in a life-time opportunity to serve Him and be involved with what He is doing in South Africa! God is good.

Packed & Ready To Go!

I packed my bags yesterday and I'm ready to go! Amazingly I fit 10 months worth of stuff into one check bag, one carry-on, and my messenger bag! I didn't think it was all going to fit in there, but with some creative packing and some cramming it all fit :)

The picture is of Shikwaru Lodge, where I'll be staying... I don't think that's the actual place I'll be staying, but it gives you an idea of the surroundings. I found out a few days ago that the internet at Shikwaru isn't the most reliable, so I'm not sure how often I'll get to post, but I'll do my best to keep everyone updated as much as I can!

I'm really getting excited and I just want to go! I've been getting ready for this trip for just about a year now and it's finally about to begin :)

Above & Beyond

God has provided ALL of the funds I need for my trip! Praise the Lord!

Not only did I get the $12,000 I was blessed with enough funds to cover all of the expenses that I've had to get ready for the trip, and for any expenses I will have in South Africa. And... I'll probably be able to donate some of the extra money to OneHope!

It's just two weeks until I fly out to Florida now! I'm getting more and more excited as it gets closer.... I will be in Florida for a week to do training and then we head out to SA on Feb 8th... OneHope let me know who all will be going on my first Nomad trip (the first 3 months I'm there) and I've been able to find them on facebook and get to know them some which has been nice... I also found out that I'm allowed to bring a laptop, so I went ahead and got a new one to take with me since my old one died last semester, let's hope this one lasts longer than a year and a half! It will definitely come in handy to store photos and keep in contact with everyone back home :)

Thank you all for all your prayers and support, I really appreciate it and I know without you this trip would not be possible... God's really, really, really amazed me with how much He's provided for me, and I know that my life will never be the same after this journey!