Overwhelmed. Exactly 19 days until I am on a plane headed to Uganda, and that's how I'm feeling.. excited and sad, but mostly overwhelmed.
I spent last Monday morning in the doctor's office, getting shots and realizing how head-over-heels in love I am with my travel clinic. I'd marry the place if I could, seriously they're the best :) Wednesday was spent at the eye doctor and on Saturday we stopped at the bank to get information about international visa cards. Basically, in between the normal day craziness, life consists of random errands getting done.
With about 3 weeks left in Chicago, it would be safe to say I feel as though I'm on a bit of an emotional roller coaster. The idea of being in Uganda again fills me with an excitement and joy that's indescribable. But I know that it also means leaving Chicago -and all you wonderful people- behind. And while Uganda has had a special place in my heart since last summer, the idea of being away for so long breaks my heart. I have mornings where I want to cry, and then mornings where I'm ready to pack my bags already.
With the (fairly recent) small ebola outbreak in western Uganda, a few people have been asking me if the trip is still on. I had a few days where I did freak out, but I came to a place where I understood that -long before I was accepted to volunteer at Ekisa- God knew what would be going on in Uganda. While this was something that surprised me, this was something He knew all about. And so, unless God does something crazy like close the country's borders within the next 2 weeks, I will be on a plane headed to Africa.
I'm feeling all-around inadequate for this journey to Uganda.. worrying that I won't 'have what it takes' to care for children 8 hours a day/6 days a week, or to be away from home for so long, or just for this whole trip in general. But God quietly whispers for me to remember.. there has never been a time when His constant, faithful grace has not been sufficient. He has never failed, so why should I start worrying now?
Nothing would make me happier -or be more comforting- than to know that you all will be joining me in going back to Uganda.. through blog posts, words of encouragement, and lots of prayers. And so, here are the details on how you can officially follow this adventure and never miss an update.
I will be sending all updates through this blog. Right now, this seems better than trying to mess with lists of email addresses. So you have two options, number one being: you can stalk my facebook profile for the next 8 months, as I will be linking all the updates to my profile. Or, number two, you can subscribe via email, and all updates I write will automatically be sent to your inbox. You can find the subscription box on the right hand side of my blog. An email will be sent to your inbox, and you will have to activate your subscription with the link provided, but after that you should be good to go (I would keep an eye out and make sure the updates don't accidentally get sent to your spam, this has happened to a few people once or twice). If you have any problems or questions about staying updated, don't hesitate to shoot me an email!
If you would like some more specific things to be praying for, another update will come soon, so stay tuned :) Thank you all again for your continued support as I get ready to start this crazy-wonderful journey!
