joy joy joy

Joy. how I love that word. it makes you smile, it makes you get a fun feeling in the pit of your soul. maybe that's a little overboard, but I love it. I love being joyful. Right now, joy is flowing out of me. Okay not literally, that may be awkard, but we just recieved an email from Blackhawk and they are writing checks out to Sarah and I for 500$--EACH! how incredible is that?! God is good. so good. It has nothing to do with us and that's a great thing.
So we're going. 2 weeks and we're going.
I distinctly remember awhile ago, when we were still deciding whether or not to go after finding out the proposal failed. I was doing one of my favorite things: running with my older brother and talking to him about our plans and my concerns. We were talking through the options and the consequences of my decisions. I just remember feeling such a sense of peace about the situation, whether we went or not. I was choosing to be content not going and content going. But how joyous I am that we're going and that the funds have come in.
Good bye Funds Paper Chain! We don't need you anymore!

Next Step: Packing!

We are in disbelief that we leave US soil in under 3 weeks. We are a few finals away from summer... and for us summer means concentrating on the important things in life; like living in Africa with the cutest kids in the world. Sara and I are slowly beginning to realize how impossible packing for this trip is going to be. Even if we share all toiletries, shoes and some clothes we will be unable to pack everything we want. Not because we're planning on bringing our entire wardrobes; complete with matching accessories, purses and fuzzy sweaters; but because God continues to bless us with things the orphanage needs. Our moms have found an abundance of children's clothing and shoes to bring to the kids at LCW. Somehow, I don't think that our limit of two 50 lb. bags will suffice, unless we bring the bare minimum for ourselves.

I think this looming challenge of packing for a 10-week trip will be a good exercise in materialism. Why bring 20 t-shirts and 8 pairs of pants when Sara and I are both extremely skilled in doing laundry? What is the point of us trying to live comfortably for 10 weeks while taking away from the opportunity to clothe God's children? There is no point. I hope that we would become selfless in this activity, putting others before ourselves and literally giving them the shirts off our backs.

Easier said than done, right? Although I've been told that with the proper rain gear anyone can survive a South African winter. No one needs to know what's underneath the coat and rain slickers ;)