Final Update Before Departure

Dear Friends,

I've been preparing for this trip for months, and started my official count down 150 days ago. It's incredible to see that number 1 on my calender. My enthusiasm is overwhelming. I feel like screaming, jumping up and down, peeing my pants. I have no idea what's in store for me. I don't know what's going to happen. I'm not sure what I'm going to see. I'm not sure how I'm going to feel. I do know that I'm going on this trip for a reason. I'm not going so that I can make a difference, but so that others can make a difference in me. I'm excited to be changed.

I've been asked a number of times how I feel about going to Kenya this summer. Words cannot describe. I'm not nervous or scared. I am really excited. I'm anxious. I'm ecstatic. I'm humbled. I'm so greatful to have been giving this oppurtunity. I'm READY.

I'm looking forward to seeing what God has in store for me, and the others on my team. I'm excited to step far outside of my comfort zone. I'm pretty much 100% positive that I am going to bawl my eyes out. I might end up crying even more than my mother (which is A LOT)... love you mom :) I cannot wait to show Jesus' love to all of the children at our Vacation Bible School. I hope that the children, youth, and adults that we come in contact with will see Jesus through our actions and our words. I hope that they'll realize we aren't so different after all... even though we come from different cultures, backgrounds, and styles of living. I hope they realize that the Jesus that loves us is the same Jesus that loves them. That the God we worship, is the same God they worship. I hope they realize that this isn't the last time they'll see us, because we will all meet again one day in heaven.

Thank you so much for your support.
I will post my journal on here when I get back.
God Bless,

Amberly

The flights are in!

Approximately 10 minutes ago our flight changes were e-mailed to us! I AM SO EXCITIED. Instead of leaving on Thursday we now leave on Wednesday. We also arrive back on August 9th instead of on August 8th!

On the way there I fly from Salt Lake to JFK, then JFK to Ghana, and then Ghana to Nairobi. The only thing is that I have a very long layover in Ghana and we don't get to Nairobi until the 24th at 5:30am...

On the way home we have a sweet deal! We go from Nairobi to DUBAI! We have a 21 hour layover! Then we fly to Atlanta, and from Atlanta back to Salt Lake.

I cannot wait!

Africa Party

Yesterday we had our Africa party. It was the last official time that we would all see each other before arriving in Kenya! How exciting. We also had to attend all three church services... so yesterday I was pretty much at church all day. It was fun though, and everyone is getting really excited! Only one slight issue... there is a group of eleven of us traveling separately from the others, and we don't have an itinerary yet! We were originally supposed to go to Atlanta and then Dakar, but Delta airlines failed to notify Dakar in advance that we would be landing there... so Dakar said no. We aren't exactly sure where we are going, so hopefully we will figure it out. 3 DAYS!

Packing

Oh the joys of PACKING!

Today I went to the church to help pack the 48, 20 gallon bins we will be taking with us. Each team member is required to carry one of these big babies around. That means that all together each person will have two carry ons, one checked bag, and one checked bin. Fun fun fun. The bins are stuffed full with medical supplies, VBS supplies, soccer cleats, and McDonalds toys. We had to put the medical supplies and soccer cleats on the bottom because they are very valuable in Kenya, and if discovered by workers at the Kenyan airport, they will be taken.

One of my carry ons is totally packed, and I am almost finished with my checked bag. I just picked up 5 pairs of soccer cleats today at a yard sale and will be stuffing them in my bag. Soccer is HUGE there, so I can't wait to see the kids when we start handing them out!

Everyday I pretty much pee my pants at the thought that I am actually going to Kenya. Our departure is getting closer and closer! 5 days!

July Meeting

Our last official meeting was this past Sunday! The trip is getting so close! This upcoming Sunday we will have a pool party as sort of our last minute meeting.

Chad Whitehead (a youth pastor from Southeast Baptist) talked to us about culture shock. He told us what brings culture shock about and what it might look like. Hopefully that won't happen to me :)

Last but not least we broke into our groups for the medical clinic and vacation bible school. I'm helping with crafts, so we just reviewed what crafts we would be making.

I also found out that I will be rooming with my friend Haley. She is actually in the picture that I posted from 30 Hour Famine!

Oh, my mom mentioned that the hotel that we are staying at had a website... I think I found it but I am not so sure. If the following website is the actual hotel, I know for a fact that it's not as 'luxurious' (i'm not sure what word to use) as it looks. Keep that in mind :) http://www.kunstehotel.com/

June Meeting

I've been extremely busy the past few weeks, so I am late updating, yet again... sorry!

The golf tournament fundraiser went pretty well, but not as well as we thought it would... we ended up being about $15,000 short. That means that each person will have to contribute a little extra to the trip on top of the $1000 they already paid.

I've been selling button bracelets for three dollars each and I've raised about $380 so far. Hopefully I'll reach $400 by the time I leave.

We had guests Rich and Bonnie come in to talk about their experiences on mission trips in Africa. They gave us quite a few tips and we got more detailed descriptions about what the culture would be like. Lets just say i'm not excited to go to the bathroom.

Last but not least we got our packing list. It's four pages long... I will probably start packing tomorrow, as I am headed out in just 13 days!