mayhem and mishaps

Well, we have started our journey headed to the place that has stolen my heart! BUT, Satan CLEARLY does not want us to go. Here are the mishaps that have occurred thus far: so, we left the hotel 3.5 hours before our flight (because it is international and we wanted extra time). We arrived at the domestic airport and Meredith dropped her sweatshirt in the middle of the road and all the shuttles ran it over. Thankfully, my dad saw it and grabbed it after a few buses left their mark on it. After that, we took a shuttle to the international airport just to find out that the first flight is domestic. We shuttled our way back to the domestic airport with 2 hours before our flight. When we got to the check-in desk, our reservations were not found. Then, after 15 minutes of looking, the people found them. BUT, they told us we were not going to make our flight to Switzerland  because our first flight is delayed. That almost have me a heart attack. 275 days of waiting just to find out we're going to miss our flight out of the country. Thankfully, the lady rechecked our flight times and told us we would just have an hour less layover and we should make the flight. So, after all this, we are all a little worried and kind of stressing out. But, we continued on to security. At security, we put all of our stuff in the bins and after we walked through the metal detector, we went to pick up all of our stuff. Then, Meredith couldn't find her passport holder with all of her money and phone in it. That got us all a little frazzled. Meredith took the reigns and asked if it had been "misplaced". The lady went looking for it and found it behind the security desk. Thank goodness they didn't get away with taking all of her essentials! Now, we are all sitting at the gate hoping and praying nothing else goes wrong. Since our flight is delayed, we have a little bit more time to relax and unwind after all that has happened. Also, we have to prepare ourselves for anything else may go wrong. We would love your prayers for the rest of the traveling because we haven't even left Atlanta yet! But, we are AFRICA BOUND! And that's all that matters now!!!

so close I can almost taste it

Man, oh man! I've been waiting for this day for about 275 days and it's almost here! I remember when I was sitting in History counting down the days until I would get back to Africa. (But still paying attention in class, of course!) The days passed slowly, yet the weeks have passed quickly!

It's amazing the way God has worked throughout planning this trip. Who knew that my dad AND my cousin would be experiencing this? Not me! I never expected any of my family to experience Africa with me. But, I can't be happier that they are getting to see the place that has stolen my heart! They are going to get to see all of my babies and I know it will be life-changing because that's what Africa is! (Especially to me!)

Every time I think about how soon my babies will be in my arms, I get so excited! I'm pretty sure I get even more excited than they do (which is VERY excited). I've been loved on so so much by everyone and I can't wait to shower my babies with that love. They definitely deserve it!

To prepare for this trip, I looked over all my old journals from last year. With each day of journaling, I relived those amazing experiences. I relived listening to Eliud tell me his life story. I relived learning Swahili from my sweet Danson. I relived Sarah falling asleep in my arms when Nash was telling everyone about how God is always faithful during the Sabbath service. All these memories make my heart so happy! These kids are full of joy all the time and they just love to love! I can't wait to create new memories with these precious kiddos!

They continually leave an imprint on my life, and I hope I'll be able to leave one on theirs in this next month.