Departure day is here and I am ready! Well, almost ready. I got up and went to a class at the gym since I won't be working out for two weeks (eeeeeeek!!!!) and because I always feel better when I work out before sitting for a long trip (27 hours trumps all previous trips though). I also ran some last minute errands including making copies of my passport, credit card, and healthcard, and I picked up some money from the bank. I still have quite a lot of packing to do but it will all come together. I sent out the link to this blog and got so many kind and encouraging responses from friends. I'm so blessed to have so many amazing people in my life that I've met and collected from all over the world over the years. I'll leave you with some quotes I've been thinking about this week:
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain (thanks for reminding me of this nugget, Rob)
"For me there is only traveling on paths that have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length. And there I travel, looking, looking breathlessly" --Carlos Iastanda
"The thing I find most amazing about Your amazing grace is the chance to give it out...maybe that's what love is all about" --Brandon Heath
"It is not down on any map, true places never are" --Herman Melville
As I think about that last quote and my sense of place in this world, I'm taken aback by the realization that so much of this trip is about the people I will encounter and interact with. We will have reciprocal relationships, teaching each other about what we know about life. And because this trip is so relationally based, that place will never be recaptured again, even if I travel back to Uganda in the future, because the people will be new and different the second time around. So I'm taking full advantage of the present and I'm going to enjoy every second of it.
Love you all! I promise to be safe and I'll post again as soon as I can from Jinja!
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"Traveler, there are no roads. The road is created as we walk it together" -Antonio Machado
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July
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- Farewell Africa
- Fun with Bobby, Chickenpox on the loose, and wrapp...
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- Francis' Prayer
- Three Snapshots of Ugandan Life
- Rafting the Nile
- God is so good..
- Swimming, swimming, in the swimming pool...
- Toddlers!
- African Adventures
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1 comment:
Tracy, your trip is so exciting! Thanks for sending us the link to your blog. Reading through some of your posts from after Paddle GA while you're prepping to leave for Africa was so interesting! I have no doubt the Lord will use you in so many ways while you're there. I must admit that I am a little envious that you're embarking on such a neat journey. Sometimes I think life can get so mundane...but then I remember that I am going on a whitewater rafting trip next weekend with Stephen as chaperones to our friend's Youth Group (he's the youth director), and that in itself is a mission field. Perhaps it's not in Africa, but I am reminded that the harvest is great in Augusta too and the workers are few. We're looking forward to the trip, and as I try to avoid being jealous of your trip, I remember the story of Esther. For you, your purpose or "such a time as this" may be Africa in July of 2008. For me, my purpose for "such a time as this" may be on a whitewater rafting trip in July of 2008. One never knows!
Keep me posted. I will pray for travel saftey for you!
-Laura Russ
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