Here We Go...

Hey Everybody!

So it's been a while since I've written (sorry to anyone who's been paying attention so far lol), but things are finally starting to happen, and they're only going to start happening faster....

But first of all, I'd just like to thank everyone for all the support I've received so far: prayers, donations, words of encouragement and the like have all meant a great deal to me and I'm glad that you could all be a part of this experience. [And by the way, thanks to your generous help, the fundraising has gone really well: I've raised more than enough to cover the $1841 plane ticket (!), by far the biggest expense of the trip. So we'll see as we go just exactly how the other expenses pan out.]

There's just over a week now until I depart and I'm finally starting to get excited. The idea has obviously excited me for a long time, and I've felt a strong calling to do this all along. But I'm the kind of person who's passionate about where he is at the moment, and organizing and participating in things first at school and now at home have kept me more than busy. But the trip is finally looming into sight and the more I think about it the more excited I get.

I got all my shots and medications just the other day. Vaccines for Polio, Typhoid, and Yellow Fever, and prescriptions for Malaria (that one was quite a headache to get sorted out and filled lol) and, of course, traveler's diarrhea. woohoo [in sarcastic monotone].

Like I said, I should start to have plenty to write about soon enough, and I'll continue to do so as much as I can.

Continued prayers would be much appreciated, not just for me but more importantly for the people I'll be serving, whoever they may be, that they're minds and hearts can be open to the love of Christ as we begin our work with them.

Goodbye for now! (And Happy Fourth of July!)