Our sunrise flight to Seattle begins our journey...

Sorting flip flops with one week to go...

We've collected 350 pairs of flip flops to take along with us to Sierra Leone... we will bring about 150 along with us to hand out to the kids that live on-site at the Children's Village, and then send the rest of them over to the COTN offices to be shipped in the next large shipping container they send.

It's been so fun to see all the different styles people bought... from great big black ones with stripes to teeny tiny pink ones with glitter-y straps... I think there will be a lot of smiling faces as we pass them out.

So, the flip flops have been sorted... today we got a lot of errands and purchases on my list taken care of... things like bigger memory cards for the cameras to journals for the kids to be able to document the trip to a few books and games to take along for all the hours we'll be sitting in airports and on planes...

We all started taking our anti-malarial meds today.

It's really going to happen, this crazy adventure... one week from today we'll be somewhere over Greenland on our way to Paris...

We're starting the packing process - making sure we stop wearing the things we'll be taking along so I won't be doing laundry Thursday night before our six a.m. flights Friday morning...

Crazy week ahead... Asia's in a wedding in Bellingham tomorrow (he flew over yesterday and will be back Sunday afternoon) a long day volunteering on Sunday at the Couer D'Alene Ironman and then heading straight to the finish line to watch for our friend Wade's finish. Monday is our 19th anniversary, Wednesday is Asia's birthday and we leave Friday. Asia and I are both working too, gearing up for a nearly four week absence.

Phew!

So excited... so appreciative of the opportunity... SO eager to see Tejan and hold his hand again as we talk about his life... his dreams... his future... how did I get to be so lucky to know this amazing boy/man across the world - and be able to call him my son?

Less than three weeks...

My to do list is quite long these days, as I'm sure you can imagine...
June is always a crazy month, with graduations and end of school events... but add a 25 day trip with a family of five and I've got quite a bit on my mind.

All the major details are taken care of. Passports. Visas. Plane reservations. House sitter. Apartment rental in Paris. Accomodations on the Africa Mercy Ship. Project guidelines.

Next up: finish collecting flip flops (we're hoping to take along 1000 pairs to pass out to the school kids and villagers!) and packing.

It's so hard to believe we're leaving so soon. After three years of planning and hoping and praying it's actually happening.

I'll be posting our itinerary and a prayer calendar soon... I'm really excited to have a team of people praying each day for specific requests while we're gone. Knowing there is a unified voice of intercession going up on our behalf will be an incredible blessing.

I do not plan to blog much on the trip. I am not even taking my computer. I hope to be able to post occasional Facebook updates... and perhaps a short blog post when I have access to a computer... but frankly, my priority while we're there is to drink in every moment. I'll journal by hand (still my favorite way to record life) and then blog the trip for you on our return... last time I went it was a great way for me to process my trip and slowly work through the many feelings and thoughts that arose after such a life changing experience.

Thank you so much for your continued interest and support...

We're down to the final countdown!

A phone call away...

This morning my phone rang at 6:00 am. Once.
Followed by another single ring.

When it rang again, I picked up. Dead line.

I looked at the number. It was 'out of area' with a 2-xxx-xxx-xxxx number.

Ah... is someone calling from another country?

And sure enough, the fourth time it rang, I answered quickly... "Auntie Cathy? It's Tejan!"

T. has been staying in Freetown ever since he had his surgery on Mercy Ships at the end of April. Chris Clark, the founder of COTN is visiting now and must have arranged the call.

I made sure he knew we were coming soon. He asked "Who is coming this time?" (I don't think he ever got over the fact that last time I came alone...)

"Everyone!" I answered. "Asia, me, Kyler, Savannah and Ethan!"

"Oh, Auntie Cathy... where is Kyler? Is he at school?"

"No - he's here..."

He got to talk to everyone briefly. He said to Savannah: "Oh, Savannah, I miss you so much I could cry."

We got cut off... he called back, then we got cut off again.

But we got to talk.

And in six weeks we get to see him.

His voice was much deeper... he is becoming a young man.

I am so thrillled to be able to see him again... his voice only made my eagerness that much more intense.

Thank you so much for helping make this possible.

We are so blessed to be able to go see him again.

I'm overwhelmed with gratitude.

7 weeks...

And we'll be on our way...
Can you believe it?

It's almost surreal - after years of planning and hoping and dreaming and praying and saving... we'll be in Sierra Leone 7 weeks from tomorrow.

It's been a roller coaster already - with financial supply and demand keeping us completely dependant on God... just when we think we've got it all covered, some other expense comes up... and then more money comes in... it's fascinating to me how God continues to keep us at His feet and then how generously He provides. It's a constant reminder of how little control we have and how much every good thing comes from above...

I am overwhelmed with the privilege of taking our kids on this adventure... and praying diligently that God will use those upcoming 25 days in July to radically transform the way they see the world... to change who they are becoming in ways that will enlarge their idea of the Kingdom... their plans for the future... their hearts. There is so much potential... praying HARD that circumstances and exhaustion and 25 days of  'family time' will not get in the way of heart/life change. I know I cannot begin to imagine how they might be changed.

Or how Asia and I might be changed for that matter... big things going on in our hearts already and so I'm eager to see how the raw experiences ahead of us this summer might bring about crazy change in our lives as well.

For those of you who have particiapted so far in our vision for this trip - I cannot begin to express my gratitude for your financial support and your prayers and your love and concern. To have such an amazing group of people behind us as we embark on this adventure is humbling to say the least. We are SO blessed. Thank you for embracing our vision and loving us through your support.

Seven weeks... it's just a heartbeat, you know. Eeks, I'm getting excited!

Tickets!!!

Today we bought our tickets!
In two months and thirteen days, we will be on our way to see Tejan.

We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support for this trip - and amazed that God put so many people in our lives who have shared so generously in our story.

July 2nd we fly to Paris. Asia and I decided to take a three day layover there with the kids... partly to give our bodies time to acclimate to the time change before we get to Sierra Leone... partly to take advantage of the fact that this once in a lifetime trip gives us the ability to show our kids not only one of the poorest nations in the world, but also one of the most decadent cities... and partly because I really love crepes au chocolat.

July 5th we fly from Paris to Freetown. We'll arrive in the evening, spend the night in a hotel near the airport and then the next day drive to Banta. And Tejan.

We'll spend almost a full two weeks in Banta. We'll return to Freetown on the 20th. Then we'll be visiting our friend Jay who serves on the Africa Mercy Ship which is now docked in Freetown. We'll stay with him until the 24th, when we fly back to the States. We'll arrive back here on the 25th.

There are still lots of details to work out... immunizations to finish up, visas to obtain so we have permission to enter the country, ministry plans for while we're in-county...

But the big daddy... the tickets... are a done deal.

Thank you Jesus.

I get to see my boy again.

Bake Sale Number Two

We had another bake sale at our church on Sunday...

Savannah was a huge blessing to me over the past couple of weeks, baking a TON to help get ready. We had LOADS of yummies available for people to purchase.

Our bake sale philosophy is donation only... meaning we bake a ton of stuff and then let people pay what they want. And we encourage them to take lots... I LOVE to bake - so it makes me really happy to see people enjoying the stuff I've made. We just set out a donation can and let people give what they can afford.

Sunday we had $700 in bake sale donations.

We also received $350 in additional support from friends and sold the car that a friend gave us for the trip for $750.

It was a really encouraging weekend.

We still haven't purchased our tickets. Our travel agent (who works exclusively with mission organizations) had a house fire last week and has been out of commission. I'm constantly reminding myself to hold that part of the trip with an open heart - trusting that God is going to take care of it. It's the part of this whole experience that it's easiest for me to worry about. We've seen the prices for tickets fluctuate SO much... from $2200 to $3600 per ticket. That's a huge jump when you're talking about five tickets. I'm learning to trust, for sure. I will feel SO much better when we've been able to get that taken care of and the tickets are paid for.

We will be in Sierra Leone in less than three months.

Can you believe it?

Three years of planning and saving.

It's really going to happen. (Yikes!)

We're really going to see T. again.