Coming Home & Reflections on Africa

Getting ready to go home was a frenzy of good-byes, exchanging addresses and stuffing suitcases. Fortunately, I had plenty of room in my suitcase after giving away the rest of the clothes I had brought. I literally went home with the clothes on my back.
Leaving Africa was hard. I had met so many wonderful people and had seen so many needs (some that I thought I could even help to fulfill if I had more time). We had worked hard and had fun doing so. We were tired - physically and emotionally. We had seen and done so much in such a short time, yet had done so little to make much of an impact. However, none of us were looking forward to the long (26 hour trip). Yet, I was anxious to get home to see my family (and my dog)!
I knew I would return home a changed person - and I wondered how those changes would affect me and those around me.
After doing a little shopping at the airport and buying some AMAZING batiks, we had to hurry to the plane where we sat for more than 3 hours while they worked out 'a security issue'. As the plane took off and I watched Africa disappear under the cloud bank, I knew it wasn't 'kwaheri' (good-bye) and that I would return again some day. (Hopefully soon!)

Day 9 - Nairobi Part 2

We met one more time in late afternoon with Dr. Emily, Dr. Peter (president of the Board of Directors of LIA), and Dr. Florence for our formal debriefing and to prepare for our return home. It was the first time we had met Dr. Peter and he talked to us about possible 'culture shock' upon returning home and urged us not to feel guilty for all that we have after witnessing such extreme poverty. He quoted the apostle Paul about 'being content' and enjoying the blessings God has given us (and using them as He would have us to).

Then Dr. Florence spoke very eloquently about the significance of 'Homecoming', reminding us that 'home' gives us identity, a sense of belonging and a place where we can be ourselves and function at our best. She recounted the stories of several individuals in the Bible who went out proud, rich and confident and came back humbled and willing to take on the servant's role. She said there was great significance in 'going back' - that it's a type of milestone that begins a new line of history. She told how Jacob went out, wrestled with an angel and had his name changed. She talked about the prodigal son and how he was willing to accept a lesser role in order to be back in his father's household when he returned from a 'far country'. She explained how we are about to begin a new chapter in our lives - that a new story is being written. The story begins with a plan that is blessed by God. She acknowledged that we will come back forever changed and urged us to return to fulfill whatever it is that we were meant to fulfill - reminding us that we will have to give an account on how we use the opportunity God gives each of us. She pronounced a blessing on each one of us then closed by saying, "May it never be said that we did not do our part." Powerful words from an incredible woman - and a great challenge to live up to.

Then it was time to head for the airport and begin our long journey home - from Nairobi to Amsterdam, to Newark, to Detroit.

Day 9 - Nairobi

We got up before dawn on our last day in Africa to go on a safari. It was only a short drive to the Nairobi Game Park. The safari was a bit of a strange experience for me - and my least favorite part of the trip. (But remember, I'm not a huge fan of zoos, and this just seemed like a 'cage-less' one to me.) The terrain of the park didn't seem any different from that of the rural areas where we had spent the past couple of days. We drove along small roads in a van with a pop-up top that allowed us to stand up and take photos of any animals we might see. Four of the 'Big 5 Game Animals' - cape buffalo, rhino, lion, leopard and elephant - were present in this park. Sadly, there are no elephants. We did see 3 of the 5 (lion, buffalo and rhino) along with many giraffes, gazelles, impalas, wildebeests, monkeys, and countless birds. Sadly, no zebras or hippos. We left the Game Park and went to an Elephant Orphanage where baby elephants are being raised with the hopes of returning them to the wild. They were adorable!
We stopped by Java House for lunch on the way back to the guesthouse where we said good-bye to JJ who was heading to a different part of Kenya to visit family before returning home. Our re- exposure to western style food left many of us with upset stomachs. Then it was back to the guesthouse to pack and for a final meeting with Dr. Florence and the LIA team.

Day 8 - Thika to Nairobi

Our presence in Thika had created quite a stir and the local pastors and community leaders asked to meet with us all again this morning for a prayer service/devotional. We returned to one of the local settlements in an area called 14 Falls and met in a small church - called 'The House of Prayer for All People'. Many of the locals had been there since daybreak, praying and fasting. Several more arrived throughout the morning, having traveled long distances on foot, by motorcycle 'taxi' or by bicycle. Many wanted to share their 'stories' about how God was working in their lives. Then there was a mini-sermon in English and Swahili (and sometimes even in Swahinglish). The message was about how 'the battle is not ours, but God's' and that He will fight for us if we are doing His will. Then came the time for prayers. It's very interesting that during these prayer services everyone prays their own personal prayers out loud at the same time for a LONG time - then is closed in a 'corporate' prayer by one person. Next came some of the most beautiful singing I've EVER heard and while I couldn't understand the words, I knew the intent. I had goosebumps the entire time. During the entire time chickens wandered in and out of the building and goats bleated outside the door. As we got ready to leave, we were able to give out more dresses. One of the things that was most unique about Africa is how much God is part of every aspect of their daily lives. As one of the men said to me, 'all is spiritual'. Another is their awareness of the power of evil in the world. Many (if not most) Africans come from a background involving sorcery and witchcraft. When one man arrived late to meet with us, he explained that the 'spirits detained him' in an attempt to keep him from hearing the word of God. (A MUCH better excuse than 'I forgot to set my alarm."!)

Then we got in the van and traveled a short distance to 14 Falls for a bit of R&R. The name comes from the waterfalls that are created as the Athi River (the second largest river in Kenya) makes a 25 foot drop on its way to the Indian Ocean @ 750 km away. We climbed down a steep trail to the base of the falls where we were entertained by local boys who plunged off the falls. After swimming to shore, they offered to take us across the river in their boat. I considered this until I saw their boat, then I politely declined! We left 14 Falls and drove through Thika Town to a well-known restaurant called the Blue Post Hotel situated at Thika Falls. We ate lunch as monkeys swung through the trees above our head. By the way, I am now terrified of monkeys! Soon it was time to say good-bye to our interpreters and friends, Susan and Ernest who before they left gave several of us African names. Mine is Wanjiru - which means 'of the family of the dark skinned people'. They also said that my dowry would be worth 3 cows - my traveling companions convinced them to throw in a chicken for good measure. So now I know my worth! Then it was back to Nairobi for our final 'debriefing', to pack and try to get a good night's sleep since we were getting up before dawn the next day to go on safari.

Day 7 - Nairobi to Thika

We got up early, loaded into the van and headed for Thika, a town of @70,000 people 120 km NE of Nairobi. Located in the highlands of the mountain range that includes Mt. Kenya and Mt. Kilimanjaro, this is mainly an agricultural region known for coffee and pineapple plantations. It is also home to 14 Falls and Thika Falls, the site of many Tarzan movies. We didn't actually stay in town, instead we were out in the countryside. Our guest house was located in the shadow of Ol Donyo Sabuk - Buffalo Mountain - considered sacred by the local tribe.
After checking in and eating lunch, we drove further out into the countryside to visit churches and schools in several settlements. At last, it was time to hand out dresses! (And shorts for the little boys). This had to be the most fun (and rewarding) part of the trip. The children were dressed in dirty rags and to see their eyes light up when they realized that they were getting brand new clothes was amazing. We visited a total of 4 sites this afternoon and handed out dresses at each one. The children sang for us and we played with them. There was lots of laughter and hugs. By the time we returned to our compound, it was nearly dark and we were exhausted. Before going to bed, I had the opportunity to see the Southern Cross. It had been a GREAT day!

Day 6 - Nairobi Slums Part 2

After lunch, it was determined that we would go to Kibera - thought to be the largest slum in the world - a place where approximately a million and a half people are crammed into a single square mile of space. We were told that we would simply drive around the outskirts of the slum because conditions there were deemed too dangerous for us to actually go in. Our driver told us about the 'post-election violence' back in December 2008 that resulted in riots in the slum with many people being injured or killed and houses, businesses, and churches being destroyed. According to him, tensions are still high.

Approaching Kibera was completely mind-boggling. From a hill overlooking the slum, Kibera looked to be a jumble of corrugated metal roofs that stretched in all directions as far as the eye could see. The makeshift houses , constructed from whatever the residents were able to scrounge up, sit on layers of compacted trash. Through the middle of the slum runs the Nairobi River, known locally as 'the river of trash'. The residents of Kibera are squatters and must pay rent and 'protection' money - usually in the amount of about $10 per month. This is a hefty fee for someone who makes a dollar a day if he/she is lucky. The people of Kibera suffer due to inadequate food and water supplies, exposure to a multitude of diseases due to lack of sanitation, and little or no education. More often than not, one or more of the adults in a household have HIV/AIDS. An entire generation (25 -35 years old) has already died from the disease. About half of Kibera’s population is under the age of 15 - many households are made up of groups of young children who have lost their parents and don't have other family members to take them in.

After driving around the perimeter of the slum, the driver pulls over and opens the door for us to get out. Apparently, plans have changed - if nothing else, I've learned the importance of flexibility on this trip! We get out, pick our way through the crowded, trash-filled streets - taking great care to avoid the plastic bags. (Remind me someday to tell you about those bags.) I feel more than a little uncomfortable as we walk through the slums in a large group. I'm hoping that we don't look like a group on a 'slum tourism' tour. (They actually have those!) There is so much to see, so much that I'd like to record, yet I don't want to offend or intrude by taking photos of such heart-wrenching and intimate scenes. Besides, I'm sure these images will be burned into my memory for the rest of my life.

Day 6 - Nairobi's Slums

Little did I know that this day, our first full day in Kenya, would turn out to be the most disturbing, overwhelming, yet rewarding part of this trip. Today we visited the slums of Nairobi. Coming from the metro Detroit area, I thought I knew what a slum was. I was wrong. In fact, the dirtiest, most run-down, burnt out, crime-ridden section of Detroit would be a middle class enclave compared to the slums we saw in Nairobi. Nothing could have prepared me for this experience.
Nairobi is a city of great contrasts. On one hand, it is a bustling, cosmopolitan city - home to many international companies and organizations including a huge tourism industry. On the other hand, it is an overcrowded, dirty, smelly, disease-ridden, crime plagued dump. And none of that is an exaggeration! The two slums we visited, Mathare & Kibera are located at the bottom of former rock quarries that had been used for years as garbage dumps and then had these 'settlements' built on top of the heaps of garbage. Nairobi has a population of about 3 million people- 60% of whom live in the slums. Mathare covers an area of about 1 sq. mile and is home to more than half a million people. Kibera, the largest slum in Africa, is about 2 sq. miles in size with more that a million and a half people.
Walking into the slum, it's the smell that hits you first. The unmistakable smell of raw sewage, rotting garbage and burning charcoal. The 'houses' are tiny (maybe 6x6?) and are constructed from a variety of materials - sticks, mud/dung, cardboard, plastic sheets, rusted tin. There are no foundations and the houses lean against one another. The roofs are flat, held down by rocks. Most houses don't have any windows and the doorway has no door. There is no electricity, water or sanitation.
The alleys are narrow and crowded filled with goats, chickens and dogs. And children. Oh the children.... they're everywhere you look. Dresses in rags, they stand or squat next to their huts waiting and watching silently. Some are lucky enough to be in school, but most are not because their families can't afford the fees to send them. Our first stop in Mathare is at one of these schools that has @120 children ages 3 - 10 - most are orphans. We arrived in time to serve their morning 'porridge' which is basically a warmed up flour and water mixture. It looks like wallpaper paste but the kids look forward to it and most drink several cups. It is probably the first thing they've had to eat since lunch yesterday.

Day 5- On our way to Kenya!

After saying good-bye to Cezi, Geta, Major & Teddy, we headed to the airport for a short 2 hour flight to Kenya. I was looking forward to this part of the trip. Kenya has been on my 'list of places to go' for quite a while - and I was excited for my first visit to the Southern Hemisphere. The first thing I noticed upon landing in Kenya was how green and lush everything was - unlike Ethiopia which was arid and DUSTY! The second thing I noticed is that they had electricity. Hooray! My camera battery had died on the way back from Debre Behran and now I would be able to re-charge it.

We were met at the airport by Dr. Emily - the head of LIA's Kenya office AND by Dr. Florence herself - the founder of LIA - which was quite an honor. She is a very wise and Godly woman and I learned so much from her in a very short time.

As we left the airport, we drove past the Nairobi Game Park and saw giraffes wandering around next to the road. Now there's a sight you'll never see at Metro! We stopped by the guesthouse to drop our stuff off then headed downtown to LIA headquarters to meet the staff and leave the duffel bags of dresses. I was assured that we would have several opportunities to distribute the dresses ourselves while we were here in Kenya. (I think they were getting tired of my constant questioning.) After leaving the headquarters, we headed for the huge open air market for a couple of hours of intense shopping that was cut short by the only rain we had during the entire trip. Things were more expensive in Kenya than in Ethiopia, but still considerably cheaper than comparable items in the US. Because this was a pretty 'touristy' area, we were able to go off on our own instead of traveling in our usual pack. It was great fun and I found lots of treasures. My suitcase will be full going home.

Reflections on Ethiopia

As I laid in bed during my last night in Ethiopia, I tried to digest (along with the injera!) all that I had seen, heard and experienced over the past few days. It was very difficult to process everything - and I felt overwhelmed with all sorts of emotions. Life is just so hard for these people and for so many, even their basic needs aren't being met. There are SO many people living in deplorable conditions unlike anything I had ever seen (or even imagined possible) before. And yet the people had a dignity about them. They were friendly, hospitable and happy. (Not to mention beautiful - Ethiopians must be the most attractive people on the face of the earth!) Yet, despite the challenges poverty brings, I never heard any arguing, complaining or children whining and crying. Instead I saw deep faith in, love for and reliance upon God. The Ethiopian people have a deep and real relationship with God and it is a humbling experience to see what an integral part He has in every aspect of their lives. This is probably the most important lesson I learned during my time here and one I hope I can emulate. I will miss Ethiopia and hope I can return someday.

Day 4 - Part Two

We returned to the guesthouse to get cleaned up to go out for a night 'on the town' with Dr. Yerud who was taking us to a very fancy restaurant called "Yod Abyssinia Cultural Restaurant" so we could experience some traditional Ethiopian food and entertainment. Before leaving, he presented us with gifts and again expressed his thanks to us for our interest in and concern for the Ethiopian people.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, we were seated in a semi-circle around low tables facing the stage. There was a band playing some odd looking string instruments called krars and masenkos accompanied by a drummer. The evening began with a ceremonial hand-washing and then the meal was served. It's called injera and consists of a large (almost table sized) piece of spongy pancake-like bread with little dabs of food and sauces in the middle. Everyone tears small pieces of injera off the sides and uses them to pinch up a bite of food which is then popped into your mouth. I won't go into detail here, but I will say that I am not a big fan of injera! But I did eat some to be polite.

After dinner, we were entertained by a very energetic troupe of dancers performing the traditional Ethiopian dance called Eskista. I got tired just watching them! Soon it was time to say good-night and head back to the guesthouse so we could pack up and get ready to fly to Kenya in the morning.

Day 4 - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

We headed back to Addis early this morning to visit a few more micro-businesses, shop, pack and get ready to fly to Kenya tomorrow morning. On the ride back into town, we were able to convince Major, our driver, to stop at a few locations along the way so we could take some photos of the amazing landscape and villages. Unfortunately, my camera died (lack of electricity can have that effect on electronics!) so I will have to depend on the 'eye' of others to capture some of these images for me. Surely, a city the size of Nairobi will have more dependable electricity, right? Actually the lack of electricity never was much of an issue for me (except for this camera thing). It was nice to eat and chat by candlelight and we all became quite adept at taking short showers in cold water. Somehow, I always felt better about showering in the dark because then you couldn't see the bugs that were scurrying around....

As we prepared to go on our shopping expedition we realized that it was Saturday and that there were no banks open to exchange our money. So we had to do it on the 'black market'. It was pretty intense - and looked like some sort of mob deal going down! But soon, armed with our Birr we headed to the marketplace to hunt for treasures. (For the record 1 Birr = @ ten cents US) We were cautioned to never pay the quoted price - to begin bargaining by offering half as much. I didn't have the heart to do that. The Ethiopian people are so poor and the prices are ridiculously cheap anyhow.... I'm sure I must have been their favorite shopper of all time! There were some amazing treasures in the market along with all the typical touristy junk. I found LOTS of beautiful things - like scarves for all the ladies that helped make the Little Dresses, a hand-made drum for Daniel, incredible bone jewelry (for me... and MAYBE to share), a handmade ceramic jebena like the one used in the coffee ceremony last night. On the way back to the guesthouse, we stopped at a coffee shop to buy coffee to take home and a macchiato to enjoy there. YUM!

Day 3 - Part Three The Coffee Ceremony

We arrived at Dereje's house which is on the outskirts of Debre Behran. We were welcomed by his wife Mimi and their 4 children. Mimi's sister also lives with the family to help with the children and the chores since Mimi works as a social worker in town.

There is no electricity, so everything was done by candlelight. The ceremony began with the passing of a huge straw bowl of plain popcorn (I think it was actually popped maize). As we munched on the popcorn, Mimi began roasting the raw beans over the charcoal fire. After the beans were roasted, she ground them up with a mortar & pestle. The grounds were then put through a device that looks something like a coffee press. The result was a thick dark liquid that looked a little like mud. It was poured into small cups and mixed with two small spoons of raw sugar cane. The hostess serves each guest a cup. And I can say that without a doubt, it was absolutely the BEST coffee I've ever had - anywhere. But it was potent. That small cup kept me awake most of the night - but it was worth it!

Day 3 - Part Two Debre Behran

After checking into to our 'hotel' called "The Eva" we set out to visit several of the micro-businesses and projects in the area. We met with people who had received training and micro-loans that enabled them to start small businesses to support themselves and their families. We were fortunate enough to be invited to visit with a few of them in their homes. Most of these homes were small (maybe 8x10) dung huts with corrugated tin roofs. The floors were dirt. Some of these houses were divided into two 'rooms' by a curtain. Anywhere from 7 -12 (or more) people live in this space. There was no electricity and no running water. Cooking was done on a charcoal fire in the middle of the room. Usually there was a crude window cut into the wall to let in light. These homes were furnished very sparsely. Maybe a bench or two and some mats for sleeping. Sometimes they had pictures torn from magazines hung on their walls for decoration. And despite the dust and filth outside, every single one of the houses we visited was spotless. And our hosts were thrilled to have us visit.

But the highlight of the day (and in my opinion the entire time in Ethiopia) happened later that evening when a local pastor named Dereje invited us to his home for a coffee ceremony. Being invited to a coffee ceremony is the highest honor an Ethiopian can offer. Rarely do Westerners get to participate in them. But before I describe the ceremony, I want to tell you a little about this amazing man. He is well-educated and works with the Mercado Street Children Project in Addis during the week. On weekends, he comes home to Debre Behran to be with his family and to preach at a local church. A while back, a 'law' was passed forbidding preachers to teach anything but the Coptic doctrine. Dereje ignored this law and soon was arrested and thrown into prison. While in prison, he continued to teach others about Jesus and began converting some of the other inmates. For that he was severely beaten by the guards, but still he did not quit. More and more prisoners were converted. Eventually, the authorities decided that Dereje was too dangerous to be in prison and they kicked him out! As word about him traveled, his church began to grow. They've outgrown their old meeting place and are in the process of building another larger one. An tonight we're going to his house for a coffee ceremony.

Day 3 - Addis Ababa to Debre Behran

I had a hard time falling asleep last night - and it wasn't because of the sound of hyenas howling outside in the compound. It was because images of things I had seen kept creeping back into my mind and I was overwhelmed with despair for these people. I cried myself to sleep wondering how God can bear watching over scenes like this everyday and how frustrated He must be with those of us who live such selfish and self-centered lives. One day here has changed my perspective forever. Whenever I'm tempted to complain, I hope He'll remind me that I have absolutely nothing to complain about.

We were up early to prepare for our overnight visit to Debre Behran, a rural area up in the mountains about 120 km Northeast of Addis. Nearly 70,000 people live in the area. We were told that the trip would take @ 2 1/2 hours, but it seemed much longer than that - probably due to the condition of the roads. They make some of our potholed & 'washboard' roads look like superhighways! Not once in Ethiopia did I see any traffic signals or speed limit signs. Until recently there hasn't been any construction or improvements made to the infrastructure. Now however, the Chinese are here building roads and towns in exchange for the natural resource rights of the country. Scary! Since this is a major route to Somalia, we needed a special permit to travel on this road and we were stopped at several checkpoints by heavily armed soldiers. We shared the road with cars, taxies, buses, large trucks, horse drawn carts, herds of brahma cows, donkeys and of course GOATS! I have never seen so many goats in my entire life.

As we traveled along , the ever-present 'tin towns' gave way to mud and/or dung houses with thatched roofs. We passed by many Maasi compounds which were easily identified by how the houses were situated in a circle. The Maasi are considered to be the predominant tribe in this region of Africa. This area is mainly farmland, but due to the drought conditions (and the fact that it is winter in this part of the world), most of the fields were nothing more than brown stubble covered by a layer of red dust. I noticed that in some of the 'villages' there was a house that had poles with flags sticking out of the roof and was told that indicated the home of the local 'witch doctor'.

Day 2 - Addis Ababa, Ethopia

Addis Ababa is the capital of Ethiopia. It is a city of more than 2 million people located in the foothills of the Entoto Mountains. It is a very underdeveloped region marked by extreme and widespread poverty. We arrived at the end of the dry season and everything was coated with a layer of red dust.After being reunited with the rest of our team over breakfast, we headed out to the Mercado District - the largest slum in Addis Ababa. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw here. Even the worst 'slums' in Detroit can't compare to the conditions here. The Mercado is home to many street children, some as young as 7 years old. Latest figures place the number somewhere around 60,000 street kids in Addis alone. Most are orphans, having lost their parents to AIDS. Many have come from the countryside looking for work. Instead they end up begging, stealing (or worse) in order to survive. We met with the LIA Mercado Street Children Team and heard about their program that provides education, housing, food and training to @150 children each year. We were introduced to a young man, Ficadu, who is about to graduate from the program. Orphaned at a young age (both parents died of AIDS), he had lived on the streets, fending for himself for 10 years. We visited his home, where he lives with 3 other young men from the program. It was tiny, sparse and tidy. On each mat where the boys slept was a Bible. Ficadu says that before, his life was hard and he was scared, but now he's happy and has hope because he knows Jesus. Other boys in the program look up to him as an example of what their lives can be like.

After lunch, we went to Antioch School and were greeted by the children who sang for us. These children are part of the Orphans and Vulnerable Children Program and receive food, clothing and other assistance to enable them to attend school. Most of the people I met in Africa realize that children are the future and they place great value on education. We visited their classrooms and got to play with them on the playground before they headed to their homes.

Day 1

Day One was a travel day (and a half). Our 3 PM flight out of Detroit was delayed due to bad weather in Newark - where we were to fly in order to catch our international flight. Eventually, we were rebooked on a direct flight to Frankfurt, Germany and left Detroit around 5:30 PM. We arrived in Germany @ 7:30 in the morning and had plenty of time to make the connecting flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia which left at 10 AM. However unknown to us, the other half of our team was still stranded in Newark - they didn't arrive in Ethiopia until Thursday morning. Due to some miscommunication, the people who were to pick us up weren't at the airport to meet us. (They were under the impression that the whole group wouldn't arrive until Thursday morning.) Since we didn't know who was actually picking us up, we waited for about a couple of hours before trying to call anyone.

In the meantime we had some pretty interesting experiences at the airport. At first the customs officials were refusing to let us bring in the 7 bags of Little Dresses we had with us into the country. They had all sorts of 'reasons' why we couldn't bring them in, but what it came down to was they wanted some sort of payment. And since I was the one in our group of 5 who knew the most Amharic (maybe 10 words total), we knew we were in big trouble! But in the end, it all worked out. Someone showed up to take us to the guest house and the officials relented and let us take all the bags. We loaded everything into the van and drove to the guest house. We got settled in and headed to bed around 29 hours after we left Detroit.

Home Safely

We made it home safely yesterday afternoon around 3 PM. I want to apologize for not posting anything while I was in Africa - believe me it wasn't because I didn't want to.... I don't know why the people who organized the trip said we might be able to go to an internet cafe a couple of times while we were gone. For most of the time when we were in Ethiopia we didn't have any electricity. We did have power in Kenya, but we were only in town for about a day and a half and most of that time was spent in the slums.

I do have a lot of stories to tell and a lot of awesome pictures to share, so I'm going to go ahead and post to the blog in retrospect. Thanks for your concern and for your prayers.

Little Dresses Update

Well, I got the last of the dresses packed into the suitcase this afternoon. As I stuffed them in there, I felt a pang of guilt for undoing the work of those ladies that had so carefully ironed all the wrinkles out during our Sew-A-Thon in May. But if it's any consolation, I did pack the dresses in those vacuum bags that are supposed to reduce wrinkles....

The ladies at LPCoC (and friends) made a grand total of 120 dresses for the little girls in Africa! They are all so beautiful and I can't wait to see the faces of the little girls in the villages when they put on their brand new dresses. I promise to take lots of pictures. I wish all of you could go with me to see it for yourself. Each of the other 10 people will also be taking a 50 pound duffle bag filled with dresses as their second piece of luggage - so I estimate that we'll be taking @1200 dresses to Africa with us on this trip.

Farewell Party

Some friends from church threw a good-bye party for me tonight - and almost forgot to invite me! ;-) I've never seen so many people so happy to see someone leave town before! The food, friendship and fun was great - I think it'll hold me over until I get back. And, YES I am coming back. I know some of you were under the impression that I had a one-way ticket. Ha! Fooled you.

Seriously, thank you for all your kind wishes and most of all for your prayers - I'm going to need them.

The Countdown Has Begun....

Well, it's starting to feel real now. Most of the preparations are done. I've had all my shots (except one that I'll get on Tuesday on my way to the airport), the Little Dresses are made and packaged up (I just got another bagful from Kenzie and her moms' group - they're beautiful. Thanks guys!), my suitcase is packed and I even got a journal made! I've learned how to use the new camera, set up the blog (now I'm trying it out!) and now I just got a phone call and found out that I'm missing the party. So, I gotta go. Maybe I'll check back in before I "leave on a jet plane" or maybe you'll hear from me once I arrive on the 'Dark Continent'.... Stay tuned for some big adventures!