We leave for outreach in two days.

AHHH!!! I'm feeling a bunch of different emotions. I'm so excited. This is going to rock - I'm actually going to Uganda. At the same time, it's surreal. No matter how hard I try, I simply cannot convince myself that I'll be in Africa in three days. Friggin' Africa! I'm scared. This is going to be different. Really different. They've prepared us well, but there's only so much you can do. I'll be shocked for sure.

We leave for outreach in two days!

So this week we've been simply prepping for outreach. Nice and easy. Talking about culture shock, airport etiquette, working on our bible studies and testimonies, shopping, packing, making individual and team commitments...
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See why I fit in?? : )

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Bah, we leave for outreach in two days!!

Wednesday night we had a love feast!! We all got dressed up nice and pretty (which is unusual - we're pretty laid back people who don't have much opportunity to dress up!) and the staff cooked for us at Kim and Jamie's side of the house!! It was delicious and it was such a blessing to be pampered. All the staff who aren't going with us prayed for the outreach team and we took pictures upon pictures upon pictures... it was a lot of fun. And it happened to fall on New Years' Eve!! So we celebrated that, too.

Me and Jas!

Me, Carolyn, Crystal

Jas, Me, Mike
LoL...

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Our amazing staff!!
Brennie, Jamie, Kim, Lindsey, and Michelle

Crystal, Jas, Me, Mike, Carolyn
The STUDents.


Our whole group!
(The outreach team plus Brennie, Kim, and Jamie)
It took a while to get a nice picture...

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Oh wow...

WOW!! We leave for outreach in two days!!!!

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Thursday morning, we watched a movie called War Dance. It's about a primary school in Northern Uganda that competes in the National dance competition. It was amazing to see good things happening in Uganda. We focus a lot of attention on the war and the LRA and whatnot... but War Dance addresses how the kids escape, how they cope. A lot of them said that when they sing and dance, everything seems better again. Things just seem right. These kids also got a chance to talk about the hardship because of the war (some of it was devastating --- orphan stories in this context are rarely anything else!), but the main focus was their lives lived in spite of the things that happen. So cool!!

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My GOODNESS!! We leave for OUTREACH in TWO DAYS!!!

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Things you guys can pray for:

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OUTREACH!! Just that adjustments go well. That we can be fully present with the people and fully surrendered to the lessons God has for us - despite how we're feeling. For us to be constantly reminded of the commitments we made while on outreach.

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For a safe plane ride!!

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For my Minneapolis layover. We have about 2 and a half hours and I get to see my parents and Sarah!! Pray that everything runs smoothly (no delays please Lord!) and that saying goodbye again is bittersweet and not just bitter.

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**I think this will be obvious, but I'm gonna say it anyway!! I won't have as much internet access in Uganda, so clearly I won't be able to post as much as I usually do. Check in once every couple weeks and I'll try to update as much as I can.

Oh and remember... you can always check http://www.ywamwinnipeg.ca/ for YWAM's blog!!

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AHHH!!! We leave for flippin' UGANDA in TWO DAYS!!!! : D