From Uganda!

It is so surreal to say this and actually be here, but I am in Uganda! Of course things didn't go as planned and I am here by myself. My team leaders, who were flying with me, had delayed and cancelled flights and were unable to meet me in London. I still spent the day touring London and was able to see all of the major sights. What a beautiful city with so much history! My flights went well and I arrived with ALL of my luggage this morning. My wonderful team had a driver pick me up at the airport and bring me to the guest house where we are scheduled to stay for a few days before driving to Bundibugyo. He brought me a cell phone and pulled up to a little shop on the way to the guesthouse where I went in to buy airtime.  I've spoken with all of my teammates in Uganda on the phone and have plans to meet with Pat tonight for dinner. Thank you for praying and please pray that the Johnsons (my team leaders) are able to arrive by tonight.

Packing and My Puppy

The last couple of days Ashley, Allison, Whitney, and I have been packing my life into suitcases. My goal was 3 bags, but I am ending up with 5! The 5th bag is my Christmas tree :) Thank goodness I had these girls to help. I had a meltdown today when things weren't working out weight wise. Without my friends I think I would have given up! After deciding on the 5th bag I feel a lot better :)

Before the packing began. Thankfully the girls were able to talk me into packing only about half of the clothes on the couch!

Making sure the bags are less than 50 pounds...with Addie's help of course :)

I just can't stand how much I'm gonna miss Addie. I HATE that I have to leave her :( I made this video of her to watch when I'm really missing her.

Family Time

This morning I was so blessed to be commissioned for the mission field at church. My BFF Allison is visiting from Orlando and she, my family, and I went to spend the day in Williamsburg. Of course we had to make a stop at Pierce's for some yummy BBQ!

Chrissy Comes to Visit!

Two weeks from today I'll be leaving for Uganda! It has been 15 days since my surgery and I am feeling great. My nose is still very swollen (but will be for a few months apparently). My black eyes are almost gone, but I still have a lot of redness in my eyes. Most of the stitches inside my nose fell out today and I can tell a difference in my breathing today also. It is slowly improving and I am anxiously awaiting the day that I will be able to breathe better than before the surgery! This past week Chrissy, who will be my roommate in Uganda, came to visit. Chrissy was in Uganda for 6 months and is in the States for a while, but should be returning soon. Since Chrissy has spent time in Bundibugyo I loved being able to ask her my thousands of questions about our house, what to pack, the people in Bundi, and just tons of questions about Uganda. I'm looking forward to having Chrissy as a roommate :)

This Gibbon was flirting with Chrissy :)

After our trip to the zoo we ate lunch at a restaurant on the beach.

Another incredible concert by the Avett Brothers!

3 Weeks To Go!

Check out my September Prayer Letter. Three weeks from today I fly out to Uganda!

Reasons #643-#650 Why I Love Ashley

Seriously, I have the sweetest, most caring, wonderful sister-in-law in the world. Since the day I met Ashley (8 years ago) I have loved her. There are a lot of reasons that she is so wonderful. Here are just a few.

Reason #643~ She is always willing to help when I need it, and she is happy to do it with a smile on her face.

Reason #644~ I love singing and dancing to the radio with her in the car (and she doesn’t even mind that I am terrible at both of those things.)

Reason #645~ Thursday morning she took me to the hospital for my surgery (deviated septum correction). She stayed with me all day Thursday, all night at the hospital, and all day today too.

Reason # 646~ She put ice packs on my black eyes every 20-30 minutes, plus helped me in a zillion other ways too.

Reason #647~ She always waits in line with me to ride the front of roller coasters.

Reason #648~ She is saving money to visit me in Uganda (plus she and my bro support me).

Reason #649~ She will lay around on a Saturday with me watching some new TV show that we don’t want to turn off.

Reason #650~ She is my best friend.

I love you Ashley! You are my BFF and I am SO THANKFUL for you! Words cannot express how much you ROCK!

Spontaneous Trip to Mizzou

One of my fav pizza places, Shakespeare's. Mmmmmm :)

Picnic lunch at Rock Bridge State Park

Saturday morning I woke up thinking it was perfect the weekend to visit my sister at Mizzou. I'm not sure why I hadn't thought of it earlier, but I decided to look at flights to see if there was one available at a reasonable price. Well, there was a flight (2 1/2 hours later) and Becca said she was up for a visit. So, I threw some stuff in a bag, got a ride to the airport and was in Missouri in time for dinner! Becca and I have had a wonderful weekend hanging out, wandering around campus, and eating at all of my fav places in Columbia. I love spontaneous weekend trips like this :)