Hi Ho! Hi Ho! To Africa we go!

Ok, so I wanted to write "Hi Ho, Hi Ho, we're going to Uganda, b****!" but thought that would be inappropriate considering the nature and purpose of the trip.

But we are going to Africa! Tomorrow I (and all other Student.Go folk) head to Birmingham, AL for some organized forced bonding - think trust falls and human knots - and then my team and I fly out on Saturday! We go through Atlanta and Amsterdam before ending in Entebbe, Uganda. Sweet.

I was thinking about what I wrote in my journal last night (I've been journaling about this trip since I found out I was going...I don't want to miss or not remember something! Also, since I want to work in the mission field, I figure the more documentation of the life process, the better!), and thought I'd share. I wrote about what I was afraid of (sorry, bad grammer). I started with things like, forgetting something really really important and being miserable the whole trip because of it. Or packing all the wrong things (clothes and accessories).

And then I got honest. The thought of peeing (or worse!) over a hole freaks me out. Not because it's a hole, but because (I said I was going to be honest) my leg muscles are really tight and sore all the time from running and so squatting is NOT a comfortable position for me!! Plus, what if (rather, when) I get sick to my stomach...yuck.

I'm anxious about the return transition - coming back to the US after a trip abroad usually sucks! Plus, I love being in close proximity with other people for most of the day. Even on shorter trips with friends, the first night I have to sleep by myself is miserable! And I know that I'm going to have to process a lot of stuff, and especially on a trip like this where I'll be seeing real poverty and disease...I won't want to live in comfy U.S. anymore. I already don't most times. And I know it's going to make me frustrated with people who don't see, or don't want to see, the rest of the world they live in.

I'm afraid I'll get there and insult or offend someone horribly. I'm afraid I'll be asked to speak and I won't have a thing to say. I'm afraid I'll be asked to give my testimony (or , oh law, PREACH) and I'm going to forget everything that's ever happened to me or everything that God has ever done in my life. I don't even know what my testimony is anymore - maybe I should write it out...

Anyhow, there are a lot of unknowns and uncertainties, but I am overwhelmingly ready to get this thing started!! I'm excited to meet more of God's people and see more of God's creation. I'm looking forward to having paradigms shifted and shattered, and I'm anticipating long days and short nights. I'm praying for strength and energy and health. I want to love and be used and be loved and be filled. I want to see big blue skies and green green grass.

I kind of just want to run and hug the world.

Doxycyclones, oh my!

sounds like tornadoes to me! it's actually (well, minus the misspelling) the name of the anti-malarial medication i have to take since i'm going to uganda. here's to psychotic dreams!!