Life has been going so quickly these past few days. I feel like I have hardly had time to breath! As I begin my quest to be a more "well rounded" teenager and participate in more normal "teenager" things I find myself stepping more and more out of my comfort zone. People often make the mistake of believing I am brave. The truth is, I am not brave. I am only strong. And that strength does not come from me, but from my Father in Heaven.
Next week a few big things in my life, as of now, will be taking place. I will be going through the election process for Student Body President, taking my final in Health Professions which will determine if I will be able to proceed into the year two programs, my program of choice being CNA, and lastly ending the week with my very first shot at the ACT. I will also begin meeting for Jr. Miss. I never thought I would be a pageant girl! But then again I never thought I would be the President of a 501c3 at age 16 either. It simply provides me with even more proof to the fact that God has so much greater, grander plans then I have for myself, and that He truly does have a sense of humor.
All of these things are requiring that strength that He always seems so willing to give. Although I have given speeches, and presentations in front of crowds lager then 100, talked to news reporters, and journalists, my fear of speaking never seems to fade. Not only will I be speaking to the entire student body of Century High School, but also the staff, and an interview committee for the current student council. Public speaking is such a silly thing to get worked up about. The people sitting before you are simply people. Just like you. But in the moment that thought is rarely comforting! No, I find comfort in the same place I find the strength to do these things. I think that really, they are one in the same, strength and peace. When God grants me the strength to do something, along with that strength comes peace. He says to me "My child, do not fear these things. I am with you. I am here. I am."
On the student council forms it explains that student council officers must uphold a good reputation, no only in school, but in every aspect of life. It says "you will be living in a fish bowl and others will be watching you constantly." Sometimes I feel like I am already living in a fish bowl. God has given me a great responsibility. He has trusted me to be an older sister, a friend, a mentor, and a leader. I am so honored by Him. Sometimes living in that fish bowl can be stressful. I know that others are watching every move I make. They are listening to every word I say. They are judging me by those things. When I have people tell me I am their role model I have to laugh. Me? A role model? But you don't understand! I am to young to be a role model. I haven't really done anything important enough in life to be a role model.
I was caught off guard today when talking to one of my teachers about my grade in her class. I have an 88.6% which sadly is a solid B. I asked if there was any way I could raise my grade to an A, even if it was a low A. Our grades in that class will be sent out to the instructors of the CNA program I am hoping to get into. So having an A is kind of important!
"Ariane, don't worry about your grade," she said.
I waited in confusion. Did I really just hear my teacher say to not worry about my grade? Seeing the questioning on my face she proceeded saying,
"You are a wonderful student. I know where your heart is and I have written you a great recommendation for the program director, probably the highest recommendation I have ever written a student. You inspire me and make me want to be a better person. So don't worry about your grade. I am sure you are working hard to study for your exam next week and while that does not count towards this grade I know that with my recommendation, and the other things involved in the selection process, the director will be able to judge you for herself, the ending result being a good one."
There I was in a fish bowl and I didn't even know it. I was at a loss for words.
"Thank you very much. I really appreciate it," was all that seemed to come to my mind.
"It isn't something you can thank me for. It's simply who you are," was her only response.
I am in a fish bowl. But as Gods chosen people we all are. Others will constantly be looking at us because we have been called to shine the light of God in this dark world. I pray that God will continue to provide me with the strength to overcome my fears while I push forward in my quest for teenage normal-ness. I pray that He will remind all of us that when we are living in a fish bowl, particularly a fish bowl for Him, life will be difficult, but life will be good. Because HE is good.
2 Corinthians 2:14-15
"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and those who are perishing."
Friday, February 4, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
My heart is beating and my eyes are leaking
I look at the pictures. I see their beautiful faces beaming back, the sun lightly touching their skin, and an indescribable joy radiating from their smiles. I see the green green background, and the red red dirt. I can see it all, but I can touch, none of it. I can hold, none of it. But I can love, all of it.
I miss Africa. Okay that is an understatement. I am totally and completely homesick for Africa, a place that has never actually been my home. Every night as I lay in bed and my gaze wanders to my far wall where some of my favorite pictures of Uganda hang, my heart drops, my throat tightens, my eyes prick. The hot tears swell and before I know it, I am lost in a swirl of emotion. My wish to be there is more than a longing, it is a craving. I crave the thick, moist air. I crave the hot sun. I crave the constant sounds of life. But it is so much more than that. I crave the people. I crave their need, their hurt, and their sorrow. I crave their joy, their happiness, and their hope.
It is complex. But maybe not really.
In Uganda I find the two extremes. I find people living in some of the worst situations one can imagine. People who have seen the faces of starvation, neglect, and death. But it is these same people who live with the greatest joy one can imagine. People who know how to love, praise, and thank God for what He has provided them with in spite of what my own eyes would judge as really nothing much.
If I saw the world through the eyes of my heart, instead of the eyes of my head I think I would see things much clearer. I would be able to see that with indescribable hurt comes indescribably joy. Life is truly a paradox. One wouldn't feel loss after the death of a friend if they had never felt love for that friend as well. Or in my case, I wouldn't feel so homesick after leaving Uganda if I had never felt like I was truly at home there as well.
I can not wait for my return to Uganda. Although June seems so far away I am comforted by the fact that as I am typing this, even now, the time between me and my flight is shortening. There is only something like 135 more days until I leave. The only thing that makes my heart once again hit what feels like the bottom of my stomach is knowing that the sooner my time to leave here and be IN Uganda has come, the sooner my time there will come to an end and I will be sitting in this same spot, longing to be in another country that I have completely fallen in love with. Only the stretch of time that I will be able to return will be even longer then.
My mom tells me to focus on "what is, not what is not".
I am trying.
I know life there will go on and my life here will too.
But I have simply come to this conclusion, I need Africa more then Africa needs me.
I miss Africa. Okay that is an understatement. I am totally and completely homesick for Africa, a place that has never actually been my home. Every night as I lay in bed and my gaze wanders to my far wall where some of my favorite pictures of Uganda hang, my heart drops, my throat tightens, my eyes prick. The hot tears swell and before I know it, I am lost in a swirl of emotion. My wish to be there is more than a longing, it is a craving. I crave the thick, moist air. I crave the hot sun. I crave the constant sounds of life. But it is so much more than that. I crave the people. I crave their need, their hurt, and their sorrow. I crave their joy, their happiness, and their hope.
It is complex. But maybe not really.
In Uganda I find the two extremes. I find people living in some of the worst situations one can imagine. People who have seen the faces of starvation, neglect, and death. But it is these same people who live with the greatest joy one can imagine. People who know how to love, praise, and thank God for what He has provided them with in spite of what my own eyes would judge as really nothing much.
If I saw the world through the eyes of my heart, instead of the eyes of my head I think I would see things much clearer. I would be able to see that with indescribable hurt comes indescribably joy. Life is truly a paradox. One wouldn't feel loss after the death of a friend if they had never felt love for that friend as well. Or in my case, I wouldn't feel so homesick after leaving Uganda if I had never felt like I was truly at home there as well.
I can not wait for my return to Uganda. Although June seems so far away I am comforted by the fact that as I am typing this, even now, the time between me and my flight is shortening. There is only something like 135 more days until I leave. The only thing that makes my heart once again hit what feels like the bottom of my stomach is knowing that the sooner my time to leave here and be IN Uganda has come, the sooner my time there will come to an end and I will be sitting in this same spot, longing to be in another country that I have completely fallen in love with. Only the stretch of time that I will be able to return will be even longer then.
My mom tells me to focus on "what is, not what is not".
I am trying.
I know life there will go on and my life here will too.
But I have simply come to this conclusion, I need Africa more then Africa needs me.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Giving Thanks
As I sit here enjoying the first snow day our district has granted us in around five years I am filled with a thankful heart not only because I didn't have to take my AP English or Honors Trig finals today (although that was definitely a plus) but because I am here with my family, in our warm cozy house, and Uganda has been our main topic of conversation this morning.
Going to Uganda has opened my heart to so many things. It has shown me what I believe to be, the purpose of not only my life, but everyones life here on earth and that is to love. To love everyone. I never understood that before going to Uganda. I couldn't fathom how you could just LOVE everyone! It is hard to explain how I can do this now. I honestly believe it is only because I truly have my Maker living inside of my heart. He supplies me with the love to give. I am like a drinking glass. He is like the tap. The world is like a thirsty child craving a quenching to their thirst. I simply have this inexpressible joy within me and that is basically the only conclusion I can come to. How blessed we all are to be loved and used by our Father who grants us such love and passion and happiness through Him! I am truly thankful for such an amazing Savior.
I am thankful for my mom. Since she is no longer working she has been totally committed to helping my with anything Africa. From organizing a team to go in June of this year, or June of 2012 to brainstorming uniform/clothing ideas and sponsorships for the children at Rock of Ages to crying with me as I read stories from a blog written by a very strong young women leading the life in Uganda I one day hope to achieve. For teaching me to be a lady, to cook eggs, to be professional, and how to share my love. She is the most amazing PR assistant I could ever as for and although we may not always see eye to eye and she can't always understand why I do what I do she is always there to support and love me in ways words cannot express. I am truly thankful for such an amazing mother.
I am thankful for my dad who has pushed me to "Go big or go home" from the get-go. Who has helped me pull together a committed team to run our 501c3 Hands4Uganda and who has taught me to "Just do it" and who has loved me though the ups and downs of life. For always encouraging me in my faith and showing me the love a father has for his daughter. I am not sure how far my dreams of building this new school for Rock of Ages would be without him and his constant love and support. I am truly thankful for such an amazing father.
I am thankful for my little sister Hannah who as I type this now is asleep next to me cuddled up in my comforter. I am so blessed to have a younger sister in my life who just gets me. Who will just come and lay in my bed and cuddle with me on cold stormy days, or when I am simply feeling lonely. She doesn't mind listening to me ramble on about school, or trips she cannot yet accompany me on, or fundraisers she is sick of helping with. She simply sits and takes it all in then offers the few words of wisdom she always seems to astonishingly have for someone of her age. I am truly thankful for such an amazing sister.
I am thankful for my step families. They always offer a new perspective, lots of love and a little chaos. For my step dad who has loved me as his very own daughter. Who has helped to provide for me and support me through the ups and downs of being a teenager stuck at a younger age then she wishes to be. For my step mom who has taught me to be tough and get down and dirty. To work hard and play hard. For all of my step siblings who have been there to encourage me and advise me on things from my love life, to college, to silly drama, to what I should wear, to how to express myself. They have all impacted my life in very special, yet very different ways. I am truly thankful for such an amazing step family.
The Lord has blessed me in so many more ways. More ways then I could ever list. From the Hair family for welcoming me as one of their own and opening the door to Uganda for me to Pam and Paul Hunter (Mama and Papa) who have shown me that our God IS a living God and that to " Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins." (1 Peter 4:8). I cannot express my gratitude and affections for either of these families.
So here I will conclude pondering on how blessed I am to be surrounded by such wonderful friends and family and how I have been given such a wonderful opportunity to bless others and they have blessed me.
Thank you Lord. Amen.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Going to Uganda has opened my heart to so many things. It has shown me what I believe to be, the purpose of not only my life, but everyones life here on earth and that is to love. To love everyone. I never understood that before going to Uganda. I couldn't fathom how you could just LOVE everyone! It is hard to explain how I can do this now. I honestly believe it is only because I truly have my Maker living inside of my heart. He supplies me with the love to give. I am like a drinking glass. He is like the tap. The world is like a thirsty child craving a quenching to their thirst. I simply have this inexpressible joy within me and that is basically the only conclusion I can come to. How blessed we all are to be loved and used by our Father who grants us such love and passion and happiness through Him! I am truly thankful for such an amazing Savior.
I am thankful for my mom. Since she is no longer working she has been totally committed to helping my with anything Africa. From organizing a team to go in June of this year, or June of 2012 to brainstorming uniform/clothing ideas and sponsorships for the children at Rock of Ages to crying with me as I read stories from a blog written by a very strong young women leading the life in Uganda I one day hope to achieve. For teaching me to be a lady, to cook eggs, to be professional, and how to share my love. She is the most amazing PR assistant I could ever as for and although we may not always see eye to eye and she can't always understand why I do what I do she is always there to support and love me in ways words cannot express. I am truly thankful for such an amazing mother.
I am thankful for my dad who has pushed me to "Go big or go home" from the get-go. Who has helped me pull together a committed team to run our 501c3 Hands4Uganda and who has taught me to "Just do it" and who has loved me though the ups and downs of life. For always encouraging me in my faith and showing me the love a father has for his daughter. I am not sure how far my dreams of building this new school for Rock of Ages would be without him and his constant love and support. I am truly thankful for such an amazing father.
I am thankful for my little sister Hannah who as I type this now is asleep next to me cuddled up in my comforter. I am so blessed to have a younger sister in my life who just gets me. Who will just come and lay in my bed and cuddle with me on cold stormy days, or when I am simply feeling lonely. She doesn't mind listening to me ramble on about school, or trips she cannot yet accompany me on, or fundraisers she is sick of helping with. She simply sits and takes it all in then offers the few words of wisdom she always seems to astonishingly have for someone of her age. I am truly thankful for such an amazing sister.
I am thankful for my step families. They always offer a new perspective, lots of love and a little chaos. For my step dad who has loved me as his very own daughter. Who has helped to provide for me and support me through the ups and downs of being a teenager stuck at a younger age then she wishes to be. For my step mom who has taught me to be tough and get down and dirty. To work hard and play hard. For all of my step siblings who have been there to encourage me and advise me on things from my love life, to college, to silly drama, to what I should wear, to how to express myself. They have all impacted my life in very special, yet very different ways. I am truly thankful for such an amazing step family.
The Lord has blessed me in so many more ways. More ways then I could ever list. From the Hair family for welcoming me as one of their own and opening the door to Uganda for me to Pam and Paul Hunter (Mama and Papa) who have shown me that our God IS a living God and that to " Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins." (1 Peter 4:8). I cannot express my gratitude and affections for either of these families.
So here I will conclude pondering on how blessed I am to be surrounded by such wonderful friends and family and how I have been given such a wonderful opportunity to bless others and they have blessed me.
Thank you Lord. Amen.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Monday, November 15, 2010
Living my dream
A few days ago I stumbled across a blog that particularly caught my attention. I was doing some research on different programs in Jinja and found Amazima Ministries International. Amazima does a few separate things including a sponsorship program for over 400 children, a necklace program, a community garden program, a chicken program, Masese feeding program, and a medical rehabilitation project. After clicking through the site I decided to read up on some of the blogs. This is when I "met" Katie Davis. Her initial story is very similar to my own. Having gone to Uganda she fell in love with the people and the culture. She started a child sponsorship program after returning a second time to teach a kindergarten class in Canaan. Now she lives in and for Uganda. I have started reading her blog (from the beginning) and I cannot believe how some of her posts so perfectly reflect my own. I cannot believe how some of her words match ones I have said. I cannot believe how she describes Africa and the love she has for everyone there and how she enjoys simply everything about it because all of those things are a mirror image to my thoughts, dreams, and heart.
I read her story and she is living my dream. She is my role model! Everything she is, everything she does, I hope to become. Here is one of the many excperts from her blog that are like words taken from my mouth. I am sure there will be many more quotes from her to come....
"beautiful.. sometimes i am walking through the noisy market, down the dusty africa road with the hotter-that-imaginable sun beating down on my face. everyone around me is blacker than the night. everything is beautiful. despite the sweltering heat, i get goose-bumps. i live in africa. i am in africa. this is africa and this is where i live and this is where i love. this is my place, where my heart and soul are. God has put me here, a place beyond all my dreams and imagination. i dont know why me. i dont know why anything. but i know. i am certain. this is THE PLAN. this is MY PLACE. and tears of joy run down my face, in the hot, dusty, noisiness, because i am HOME."
Wow.
I read her story and she is living my dream. She is my role model! Everything she is, everything she does, I hope to become. Here is one of the many excperts from her blog that are like words taken from my mouth. I am sure there will be many more quotes from her to come....
"beautiful.. sometimes i am walking through the noisy market, down the dusty africa road with the hotter-that-imaginable sun beating down on my face. everyone around me is blacker than the night. everything is beautiful. despite the sweltering heat, i get goose-bumps. i live in africa. i am in africa. this is africa and this is where i live and this is where i love. this is my place, where my heart and soul are. God has put me here, a place beyond all my dreams and imagination. i dont know why me. i dont know why anything. but i know. i am certain. this is THE PLAN. this is MY PLACE. and tears of joy run down my face, in the hot, dusty, noisiness, because i am HOME."
Wow.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Tears of the Sun
Last night I was in full on "Africa mode". I was reading, thinking, listening, watching Africa. Doing everything but living Africa.
I put in the movie "Tears in the Sun" because I love watching movies on the struggles there and how some hero always brings good in the end. It is how we so often wish life to be. Before going to Uganda I, like so many others, could write off the horror of some of the movies we see with "rebel armies" and demon possessed dictators as fiction, or something that happened a long time ago in a far off land. After seeing first hand through the eyes of some of the people effected by these atrocities this is no longer the case for myself.
My normal "feel good" Africa movie is "Invictus", the story of Nelson Mandela and how he used the sport of rugby to unite a deeply divided Africa nation, South Africa. But I was up for a bit more action last night so I popped in the one other movie (besides "Sahara")that I knew could offer me a glimpse of the continent I have come to call home. I had not watched "Tears in the Sun" for almost a year and could remember faintly the details. I didn't realize what I had just gotten myself into. Bloodshed, rape, murder, dishonesty, and your basic good vs evil was right before my eyes.
How is this any different from any other war movie I have seen?
Why did this one hit me so hard that by the closing scene I could no longer hold back my tears and let out sobs of emotion?
I can tell you why. It is because these things are not fiction. These things did not happen a long time ago, but are happening today. These things are happening in a far off land, but now that far off land is much closer to my heart. You don't hear every day about the merciless killings, kidnappings, and rapes that happen to innocent people taking place in this far off land. They don't make CNN news and you wont find their story on FOX.
Why?
Why do we close our eyes to these things that are happening every day? Is it because they do happen every day and we have accepted them as the norm? Or is it because we choose to close our eyes from this incredible tragedy because our hearts may be pulled and we may feel something deep inside telling us we ought to do something about it? Whether it be from naivety, ignorance, or fear I am here to say that this is not okay. We as Americans have opportunity. Notice I said "have opportunity" and not "have an opportunity". This is because for us, this isn't a singular situation. Every day we have the opportunity to change the way this world is currently spinning.
Here we have the chance to make the difference, to be the change.
I go to school every day. That is what most 17 year olds in the United States do. I will admit that I also complain about it, something I believe most 17 year olds do as well. I hate crawling out of my warm Egyptian cotton sheets and having to uncurl from the ball of twisted down comforter and feather pillows I have become through out the night. I loathe turning on the shower and feeling the icy waters chill my hand as I wait the two minutes it takes for the water heater to kick in and make steam rise from the now scalding droplets. I dread walking into 1st hour AP English and once again discussing the symbolism behind "The Scarlet Letter" and continuing through my planned, laid out, knowledge packed (and usually homework packed) every day routine that school puts me through. It is when I look at myself like this that I see just how very conceited I myself am. I am just like any other person who turns their face from the raging wars occurring in Africa. I take for granted the things that kids are dying for in Africa.
A place to sleep, clean water, and an education seem simple.
Living-seems simple, doesn't it? Our living so often is. Their reality...well it's just not.
Why?
Because they were born there and we were here?
Basically.
This isn't fair and I refuse to let this be the case anymore. This is why I will get this school built. Education is the key to the lock that has kept the door shut on Africa. God is there. He is working. He is willing. We will open this door, even if it is for only a few children in a side-of-the-road village in Uganda, Africa.
I put in the movie "Tears in the Sun" because I love watching movies on the struggles there and how some hero always brings good in the end. It is how we so often wish life to be. Before going to Uganda I, like so many others, could write off the horror of some of the movies we see with "rebel armies" and demon possessed dictators as fiction, or something that happened a long time ago in a far off land. After seeing first hand through the eyes of some of the people effected by these atrocities this is no longer the case for myself.
My normal "feel good" Africa movie is "Invictus", the story of Nelson Mandela and how he used the sport of rugby to unite a deeply divided Africa nation, South Africa. But I was up for a bit more action last night so I popped in the one other movie (besides "Sahara")that I knew could offer me a glimpse of the continent I have come to call home. I had not watched "Tears in the Sun" for almost a year and could remember faintly the details. I didn't realize what I had just gotten myself into. Bloodshed, rape, murder, dishonesty, and your basic good vs evil was right before my eyes.
How is this any different from any other war movie I have seen?
Why did this one hit me so hard that by the closing scene I could no longer hold back my tears and let out sobs of emotion?
I can tell you why. It is because these things are not fiction. These things did not happen a long time ago, but are happening today. These things are happening in a far off land, but now that far off land is much closer to my heart. You don't hear every day about the merciless killings, kidnappings, and rapes that happen to innocent people taking place in this far off land. They don't make CNN news and you wont find their story on FOX.
Why?
Why do we close our eyes to these things that are happening every day? Is it because they do happen every day and we have accepted them as the norm? Or is it because we choose to close our eyes from this incredible tragedy because our hearts may be pulled and we may feel something deep inside telling us we ought to do something about it? Whether it be from naivety, ignorance, or fear I am here to say that this is not okay. We as Americans have opportunity. Notice I said "have opportunity" and not "have an opportunity". This is because for us, this isn't a singular situation. Every day we have the opportunity to change the way this world is currently spinning.
Here we have the chance to make the difference, to be the change.
I go to school every day. That is what most 17 year olds in the United States do. I will admit that I also complain about it, something I believe most 17 year olds do as well. I hate crawling out of my warm Egyptian cotton sheets and having to uncurl from the ball of twisted down comforter and feather pillows I have become through out the night. I loathe turning on the shower and feeling the icy waters chill my hand as I wait the two minutes it takes for the water heater to kick in and make steam rise from the now scalding droplets. I dread walking into 1st hour AP English and once again discussing the symbolism behind "The Scarlet Letter" and continuing through my planned, laid out, knowledge packed (and usually homework packed) every day routine that school puts me through. It is when I look at myself like this that I see just how very conceited I myself am. I am just like any other person who turns their face from the raging wars occurring in Africa. I take for granted the things that kids are dying for in Africa.
A place to sleep, clean water, and an education seem simple.
Living-seems simple, doesn't it? Our living so often is. Their reality...well it's just not.
Why?
Because they were born there and we were here?
Basically.
This isn't fair and I refuse to let this be the case anymore. This is why I will get this school built. Education is the key to the lock that has kept the door shut on Africa. God is there. He is working. He is willing. We will open this door, even if it is for only a few children in a side-of-the-road village in Uganda, Africa.
Monday, November 8, 2010
So here we are..
I have now been home for a total of 140 days and am counting down the days until my return trip to Uganda(hopefully if all goes well there will only be 204 days until my return to the mother land).
Although Hands4Uganda has been keeping me busy and my head out of the clouds I cannot help but think about going back. There is something about Uganda that has simply captivated me. I miss everything about it. The people, the towns, the villages, the heat, the sky, the jungle, the Nile, the birds, even the dirt. I have vivid dreams that I am once again in Jinja town and walking in the market or down the street near the compound. Or that I am preparing frantically to leave the next day and I am having a horrible time remembering what to pack. For this reason I have made a complete packing list, simply so when that time comes I will be fully prepared (actually I had my return packing list made and ready to go basically by the time I got home from trip 1. I just couldn't help it!)
I am hoping to get some trip details straightened out as soon as possible. I am will be visiting with Syd either tomorrow or Wednesday about flights, ideas, organizations etc. and emailing Rufus Van Dyke in hopes of getting him fully committed to leading a team in June. Maybe we will end up having two teams go? Tomanya.
Although Hands4Uganda has been keeping me busy and my head out of the clouds I cannot help but think about going back. There is something about Uganda that has simply captivated me. I miss everything about it. The people, the towns, the villages, the heat, the sky, the jungle, the Nile, the birds, even the dirt. I have vivid dreams that I am once again in Jinja town and walking in the market or down the street near the compound. Or that I am preparing frantically to leave the next day and I am having a horrible time remembering what to pack. For this reason I have made a complete packing list, simply so when that time comes I will be fully prepared (actually I had my return packing list made and ready to go basically by the time I got home from trip 1. I just couldn't help it!)
I am hoping to get some trip details straightened out as soon as possible. I am will be visiting with Syd either tomorrow or Wednesday about flights, ideas, organizations etc. and emailing Rufus Van Dyke in hopes of getting him fully committed to leading a team in June. Maybe we will end up having two teams go? Tomanya.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Many Thanks
Thank you.
Two simple words I owe to everyone who is following this blog. Without you I would not be going on this trip, and words cannot express how thankful I am for this opportunity! So again I say thank you for your donations, your time, your love, and support.
I will be mailing out receipts to everyone who made a $ contribution when I return (tax deductible!) and I will update this as much as I possibly can!
Two simple words I owe to everyone who is following this blog. Without you I would not be going on this trip, and words cannot express how thankful I am for this opportunity! So again I say thank you for your donations, your time, your love, and support.
I will be mailing out receipts to everyone who made a $ contribution when I return (tax deductible!) and I will update this as much as I possibly can!
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