June 16, 2010
So in my little interim back in the states- let’s just say my eyes were way bigger than my stomach. Somehow- I managed to squeeze in 6 working days, a 4 day trip to Lake Tahoe with my brother (upon which I nearly fell to my death hiking on a snowy, rocky mountain), a weekend at the lake house with my wonderful small group, meals with my family, a trip to Austin, and a night out with Dallas friends, on a consistent diet of 4 hours of sleep a night. Oh, and by the way, run all the errands that one must run to prepare themselves to leave the country for 11 months. All the while, struggling immensely with technology woes of hard drives, computers, and cameras. Ha. I ran errands from 8AM-8PM yesterday, after which I began to pack, ya know, so I could get to the airport by 4 AM. Yesterday was the busiest and most disasterous day ever. Ahhh… it feels so good to be sitting in an airport doing absolutely nothing.
Amidst the storm, and saying good-bye to everyone, I had very little time to process what was happening, to weigh the cost of what I am leaving behind. But here I am, stepping off the cliff and into this adventure. It’s finally here. And it’s hitting me like a ton of bricks all at once. I am really going to miss you guys. I am really going to miss my life with yall and all of the conversations and laughs we share. So to all of you wonderful people in my life- I want to say thank you, just in case I didn’t convey it well to you individually, for making me feel so loved upon my departure.
To everyone in the PICU who did so much encouraging, and threw me an awesome surprise going away party (with some absolutely fabulous cupcakes)– thank you guys. I will miss yall immensely and I hope to do you proud. Love those bebes well and hold down the fort. You are all wonderful. Especially you, Doug Haase. (Don’t be jealous Ramon, you’re great too 🙂 To my Monday morning ladies-I love yall so much. Thank you in advance for all the prayers I know you are sending this way.
To all my mission control folks, I love yall and thank you for a fabulous weekend. I will think of you often- but will hopefully see you very soon on Skype (ech hem, something I still need to sign up for).
To Brett, James, Matt V., Jared, thank you for all the technical and comical support.
And to all the rest of you- you know who you are-especially my girls, thank you for helping me get to this point. Thank you for making me the person I am today and preparing me for this journey. I love you all dearly.
To all of my supporters, once again, I appreciate so much the opportunity you have afforded me to share the hope that we find in Jesus to the world.
I will do my very best.
