This is a far cry from a romantic date with the love of my life, however it is almost as exciting - notice that I said 'almost' - I don't want to get in trouble with Jill. Through the process of sending questions back and forth to AIM, we now have official planning dates for departure. While this isn't a big surprise, actually seeing the dates on paper and looking at calendars can cause your heart to skip a few beats.
It's kind of like that time we were on the "Big Shot." I had a convention out in Las Vegas and Jill got to go with me. This was back during our first year of marriage prior to the kiddos. At the end of the strip is the Stratosphere. It is the tall tower that you see in so many pictures. At the top of this tower is a ride called the "Big Shot." If you've been to Six Flags Over Texas, it is like Superman, only about half as tall and sitting on top of a tower almost 1000 feet in the air! They strap you in and shoot you straight up. You almost feel like you are launching into space - or at least what I would imagine that to feel like. Jill still hasn't forgiven me for taking her on it - in fact, she says it has "ruined her" for all future thrill rides and roller coasters. Here's a picture - the "Big Shot" is up on the very top of that tower.
Let me get to the point before Jill accuses me of rambling again. As we sat up on the tower waiting to get "launched" there was a nervousness swimming around in my stomach. It was an intense excitement, amazing anticipation and just a little (okay a lot!) of feeling like I was about to choke up my lunch. The anitcipation almost killed me......but the ride was one of the most exciting things I've ever done! That's how I feel right now........the anticipation is about to kill me, but I know this "ride" is going to blow my mind!
One of my new favorite verses is Isaiah 25:1 - "O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your name, for in perfect faithfulness You have done marvelous things, things planned long ago." Isn't that cool? This is just a small part of the marvelous things, He planned long ago for us. In that, there is a perfect peace and a resounding affirmation of His call on our lives. Please pray for us......as of today, there are 21 weeks until we have to be in New York for our flight to Africa. Yes, you read it right......21 weeks....sounds a lot longer when you say 5 1/2 months doesn't it?
Here's the timeline.....we are supposed to be in Pearl River, NY at AIM's US Headquarters on June 24th. We will be there for 2 days and then catch a flight on June 26th for Nairobi, Kenya. We will be in Nairobi for 2-3 days and then off to Machakos for Orientation. I think orientation is either 3 weeks long or 6 weeks long and then we'll head to Mbarara, Uganda to start our work there.
There is so much left to do......we need to sell the house, find a new place to live, get everything we need for the next 18 months packed into 8 action packers, get our medical clearance, torture our kids with all the immunizations they will need to get, and get all of support raised.......can you say "overwhlemed." We love each of you and are so grateful for your prayers - that is what carries us through!
And just so Jill doesn't get on to me about not posting pictures with my posts.....here is a view of one of the main streets in Mbarara, just to give you a taste of where we'll be for the next 18 months.
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