TOMORROW, people!

The traveling itch has gotten the better part of me and I am back in the air in less than TWENTY FOUR HOURS! This year I get the opportunity to travel to a new continent. A new culture. A new learning experience.

The great thing about Calvin College is the off-campus interim programs they offer, and this year I will be traveling with a group to Kenya for three weeks. Beyond that, though, I have the advantage of having close friends in the neighboring country of Uganda, so I will be leaving one week early to spend some time with them.

On Thursday, December 27 I fly out of Grand Rapids and 25 hours later land in Kampala, Uganda. This will be the first "short" stretch of my trip, where I will stay for a week. While here I and another Calvin student, Alli, will be visiting Steve & Tanya Tiesenga and their four kids, Ashley, Drew, Troy & Kate, who are missionaries through International Teams. Tanya was my youth leader, hair cutter, and a good friend (and still is!) before they moved 17,000 miles away last September. Alli and the Tiesenga's go even further back since they've been family friends for a long time.  I am so excited to see their family after almost a year and a half, and also see their ministry first-hand and share in their new lifestyle in Uganda. I am also looking forward to meeting their new daughter, Kate, whom they've adopted since living in Uganda.

Friday, January 4, 2013, Alli & I will say our farewells and fly out from Kampala to Nairobi, Kenya, to meet up with the rest of the Calvin group. We will spend about a week in Nairobi getting accustomed to new setting, making friends with students at the university at which we'll be staying. We will visit churches and homes of the people there, learning about their life and God's work in them. We will also be staying near the state house (similar to the white house in the U.S.) and learn of the history, culture, and political leadership of Kenya. We will then leave for the rural area for about 10 days, where we will work in a girl's shelter, orphanage, visit the Kibera Slums- the poorest area in Kenya, travel through the Masai Mara- the largest safari in Kenya, and other adventurous things. Afterward we will travel back to Nairobi and spend our last few days before flying home on January 22, arriving back on January 23.

I would really appreciate your prayers while I'm gone. A few items to keep in mind are:
-Safety in traveling. I'm most nervous about finding Steve & Tanya in the airport in Kampala, then finding the Calvin group in Nairobi. So please pray that everything goes smoothly when we arrive in these places
-Safety on the trip. We will be exposed many times to dangerous things, so please pray that we will all be protected while overseas.
-Appreciation for my blessings at home. In this world it is so easy to look at what we don't have, rather than what we do. I hope that this will teach me to be more grateful for the many blessings in my life, rather than often seeking more. 

Additionally, in preparation for our visit to the orphanage, I put a little note in my church bulletin asking for some items like coloring books, crayons, toothbrushes and paste, soccer balls, etc. to bring to the kids. I am SO grateful for how much everyone donated- I had more than I could take (but thankfully other students had some room so we got it all packed). I was overwhelmed with how much was given, so thank you very much to anyone who helped out!

Here's the flight itinerary there (in MI time):

12/27/12: 
1:00p - 2:40p Grand Rapids - Minneapolis; 
4:15p - 12:35a (12/28) Minneapolis - Amsterdam, Netherlands; 
4:05a - 2:20p Amsterdam - Kampala, Uganda.
*Uganda and Kenya will both be 8 hours ahead of Grand Rapids, FYI.

I know I won't be able to update everyday. Maybe not even at all. But you can all be sure of many pictures and stories to be posted at the end of my trip.

Pce. & Blessings.
Jess