T minus 2 months and counting...

Thursday, December 2, 2010...7:30 am.
Sit for many, many hours.
Look out the window and see this:


Phnom Penh, Cambodia!!

I am very excited to say that I purchased my plane ticket for Cambodia less than an hour ago! There is something about buying the ticket that makes this more of a reality for me. I don't have to answer people with a semi-question anymore when they ask when I'm leaving.

Guess I should to break out my lesson books from last year and try to brush up on my language skills. I remember some, but have forgotten most of what I learned. I am hoping that it will come back quickly once I get there, and I also plan to take a rather intense course at the university. It makes life so much easier when you understand the world around you!

I am also working on raising the finances I need for this move. It is getting to be crunch time now (seeing as how I am leaving in 2 months). I am looking forward to seeing how all of this is going to happen! If you want information on how to give a one-time gift or become a part of my monthly support team, let me know!

Cambodia, here I come!

Making Plans

I am a planner.

For those that know me at all, that was kind of a "well, duh!" statement for me to make. I am actually one of those people that enjoys planning and organizing...it's my thing.

And I love "to-do" lists. I love making them...and I LOVE checking things off of the list. Sometimes I cheat a little if the list is full of hard, time-extensive projects...I write a few easy things that I don't actually need reminded of to get done...or I have been known to write down things I have already completed that day just so I have something to cross off. Don't judge me...it keeps me motivated.

This last month, and the next couple months to come, is one long, continuous "to-do" list of things I need to accomplish before leaving for Cambodia. Some are no brainers, like purchase plane ticket, but that is not as easy as you might think. I have tried to be my own travel agent in the last couple days, searching all the sites, figuring out the cost vs. "itinerary-that-won't-kill-me" ratio. I have decided there are professionals who do this for a reason. So tomorrow I am trying a whole new round of agents since the ones I had contacted already have not been too helpful (thus the plan to do it on my own formed and is now being kicked to the curb).

Others things on my list are labor intensive, such as designing and writing newsletters, support packets, prayer cards, business cards, donation receipts, information cards, address labels, bulletin inserts, fundraiser fliers and labels, etc. This seems to take me longer than it should, and makes me want to pull my hair out sometimes, but I love being able to look over the completed projects with a smile and sigh of relief.

I have to remember, though, that my life is not and should not be driven by a list. I have to be flexible. If there is a default in my brain, it most likely is set to "task-oriented." That's not a bad thing, as long as I don't forget that there are other things I need that no one makes lists for...like relationship with other people. Relationship with God. Being a living, active version of Jesus' compassion to the world. Those are the important things. The list can get finished another day.

Yes, it's true...

...I am blogging again! I can almost hear the gasps!

It's been quite a long time and while I have thought about it a lot over the last year and a half, knowing that I really should but never being too motivated to, I am jumping back on the wagon and updating this...and hopefully it will be on a regular basis.

And with this being the first post in such a long time, I might as well start with the big news (for those that don't know)...

I am moving to Cambodia!

The plan is to leave the first part of December. On a one-way ticket. That seems a little scary, but the "good" kind of scary. I am really excited about this. I have been waiting to make this move for a while. I was there January and February of 2008, and then went back again September 2008 to March 2009. I thought that I was only going to be in the states for six months or so before returning. It has now been a year and a half! I am grateful for that extra time, even though I wasn't expecting it. And am very ready to get back to Cambodia.

I am going to be partnering with a local church to pioneer a missions ministry. When my friend, Brittany, and I were there for the six months, we started a discipleship/missions group. My heart is to start this up again and develop it a bit more.

I will be posting more details about the move and the ministry I will be doing there. So check back again soon...I promise it won't be so long between posts again!