A lot of people have been asking me about "Africa" recently. Most of the time they seem to ask, "Are you excited for Africa?" And of course, I always respond with, "Yes, I am!" But then I lead on to talk about how I am also nervous about coming back to Sacramento after being in Africa. Why am I worried? Well, because when I come back I will no longer be in college, no longer in the RA position, and will not yet have a job. My life is extremely busy right now, and I am sure it will remain the same while in Uganda.But then I'll come back to California and be living  life of complete nothingness for a while. And then there is just the adjustment of no longer being in Uganda. Not seeing Taylor every single day, not seeing my students, or the people I live with. Life will be different and I don't know if I'm going to like that.

As I was talking to a friend today, she said, "You know, God opens doors at the right time, so I wouldn't be worried about coming back." She also talked about how she thinks it will be good for me to have some time to adjust back to the Californian culture. And I think she is right.

I am sure I am going to miss being in college, living on campus, being in the RA position, and everything about Uganda when I return, but I have to remember that God has a plan. A plan that leads me right where He desires for me to be. And if that's back in Sacramento, then that's right where I need to be.

I was blessed to receive my tax return yesterday. For the past three years I have never received any money on a tax return. I've always had to pay loads because if a stipend I was receiving. With this tax return, I am going to go purchase some supplies for Uganda. Some nice sandals since they seem to wear out quickly there (my friend Lisa who is living there posted on her blog about this). I am also going to get some baby wipes for Taylor and I, as well as try and find some cheap skirts since everything must be to my knees and it's rather hot there.

It is averaging 80 degrees there during the day, and it's only March! Eeek, can you imagine what it will be like in the summer?! We are going to return with some killer ugly tan lines. I'm sure of it.

Funding update: $2,385
Other update: I need to get my Yellow Fever immunization still. Blek. I also need to send my money to Sherry so we can purchase my plane ticket. I am going to do that next week.

Keep on Kicking Butt

I am quite thankful for people like Caycee.

I adore that she knows the book that started this journey of mine and the fact that she takes the time and care to pray for me. I know Caycee from 512, the college group I've attended. Over the summer 512 had a camping trip and I had the privileged of sharing a tent with Caycee and two of our other friends, Sam and Austin. All three of the girls have been people who have encouraged me, welcomed me, and have made me feel cared about. And it means the absolute world to me, and has made such a difference in my life. 

Anyhow...

I have recently been getting a bit discouraged as well as overwhelmed with everything in regards to Uganda. All the funding I have left to raise, immunizations, and just the thought of leaving university and off to a new country has been weighing on my mind quite heavily. I am beyond excited for Uganda, but it has been stressing me out recently. 

It was this text message from Caycee that reminded me of what I am doing, who I am doing it for, and where my mind should be. 

The prayers and support from everyone mean so much to me and  they are what keep me going in this sometimes treacherous journey. 

So for now, I am going to point my eyes to where they need to be and "keep on kicking butt."

Stop for a minute and smile...

Its absolutely crazy to think that in 80 days I will no longer call this room I've lived in for the past 10 months, "my room." Instead I will be living in a house with happy children and sharing a room with Miss Taylor. I will be living in a land of green and a land of adventure.

In 80 days my life is going to change drastically. In 80 days I will say goodbye to people I don't really want to say goodbye to and leave for a place I never thought I'd journey to. In 80 days it all begins.

And I think I am ready.

Yeah, no. I am definitely not ready quite yet. I need these next 80 days desperately. I need 80 more days of: being an RA, living on campus, being in college, spending time with my family, hanging out with friends, building relationships with residents, and for heart preparation.

So thankfully I still have those 80 days.

Although, tomorrow I will only have 79 more days.

Say what?!

I'm moving to Uganda in 80 days.

Is this real life?

Yeah.

New News

1. Taylor and I will be flying to Uganda together! Her and I are quite excited for this. Taylor is flying out of Texas, and I out of California. We will be meeting up at the departure gate in Brussels. It will be nice to have our final flight to spend time together before we begin our adventure.
2. I no longer have a layover in London, but I am okay with that. I will get to fly with Taylor instead! 
3. Taylor and I are co-teaching in the same P3 classroom!
4. Our class consists of 8 students, which is small, but they all desperately need help.
5. Because there are two of us in the classroom, we will be able to rotate in the classroom so that we can participate in the mission outreaches. We will have just one of us in the classroom during those times. Taylor and I are excited to participate in these trips outside of getting to teach. 

It's been comforting being able to talk to Taylor. I am am so happy I get to arrive in Uganda with her and just to be able to spend our flight together. It's beyond exciting to get to know the person I am going to be traveling with, teaching with, rooming with, growing with, learning with, spending 24/7 with for three months. 

I cannot tell you how excited I am to leave for Uganda. I was excited when I first decided to go, and then got into a stage where I was sad to be leaving college, my friends and family, but now I am just completely ready to go. I am back to thinking about it constantly. Especially since Sherry has been posting some awesome photos from Uganda on Facebook recently!

So there you have it. A few new updates. Taylor and I have a decent amount of information to sort through at the moment. Once we have done that we are going to discuss and see if we have questions to send Sherry's way. I am sure I will have more updates once we've done that.

Taylor

About two months ago, Sherry gave me the email of the girl who would be teaching with me in Uganda. I was absolutely beyond excited to finally have a way to contact her. I shot her an email but didn't hear back from her. I had sent an email to her school email from my personal email, and many times when I send from Yahoo to a school email account it sends it to the spam folder. I thought that maybe this had happened.

I just gave it some time, because I didn't want to keep bothering her. But yesterday, she emailed me back! And yes, my email had gone to her spam folder and she had just randomly found it. I cannot tell you how happy I was to see Taylor's name in my inbox!

We have been emailing back and forth all day long and are getting to know each other. Taylor is from Texas, is also going into teaching, and loves the younger kids as I do. We both are really comforted to know that we are going into this journey together and that we will have one another through it all.

I am so excited to get to know Taylor more and to see what God has in store for the both of us.

I have a feeling that we are going to become good friends.

Funding progress: $2,030/$3,200

I am only $30 away from being able to purchase my plane tickets. I am still a good $1,200 away from being able to actually live in Uganda. I need to be able to pay for food, transportation, as well as room. If you know of anyone who would be willing to support me, please send them my way!

I also finally found the perfect journal for Uganda. I have already begun writing about my preparation.

And lastly, only 114 more days!


Prayer Requests:

• For support. I still have a ways to go to be able to actually live in Uganda.
• I am taking five classes this semester, which includes about 40 hours of field work in classrooms, a Perspectives class, and then of course there is being an RA. Let's just say my schedule is crazy. So prayer that I can stay focused, get done what I need to get done, all while preparing to go to Uganda.
• There are children who need sponsorship for schooling at the New Creation Centre.

There you have it folks

^ This is how much some lovely people have helped me raise so far ^

My round trip plane ticket costs $2062.30

I have raised $1,890.00

And for those of you are not so great at math, like myself...

(My mom and I were shopping for a baby gift tonight and she asked me to add up how much we had spent so far as she scanned the items we had chosen. I reminded her that I had received a D in math this past semester and that I would be using my calculator. I am not ashamed, I am terrible at math and that is that. I have never received lower than an A on a paper, so I think my writing abilities make up for my lack of math skills. Besides, making me do math in anything besides base 10 is trickery I say. Ain't nobody got time for that!)

...that means I am only $172.30 from being able to purchase my plane tickets!

My total amount needed for Uganda for plane tickets, transportation to and from the school, food, and living accommodations is ~$3,200

So again, for those of you who prefer writing papers over math problems, that means I have ~$1,140 left to raise for Uganda. 

Basically I can get there, but will have to not eat, walk to the school, and live on the streets. My mom wouldn't like that because she would be even more scared of me getting Malaria than she already is. If my mom had it her way, I would wear footie pajamas, gloves, and a bee keepers mask my entire time in Uganda so that there would be no chance of me getting Malaria. 

Anyhow, I just thought I would keep you all updated since I said I would once I got my totals!

Prayer requests:

• For financial support. I have raised so much already, but I still need a good amount to be able to have a home, food, and transportation while in Uganda.
• For me to have the motivation to figure out the rest of my immunizations and such.
• For my heart to continue to be in the right place as I finish my last semester of college while preparing for this big adventure.
• And well, probably for my mother as she worries about me getting Malaria. 

Merci beaucoup mon amis.

That means, thank you very much my friends, in French.

Yes, I am still trying to make up for my lack of math skills.

I remembered this from my French classes.