Last one before I go

What does one do with the last four days before leaving the country for a few months? What gets priority? Packing? Personal reflection? Parties?

Who is the priority? 

Friends?

 (Paul Queen- since high school)

(Mona- since college)

Family?

(John- my brother)

(Dad and Kay-my stepmom)

(You may notice that i just got a new camera. I hope it helps with this whole staying-in-touch thing! p.s. Nikon helps to offset about 2 tons of carbon dioxide for every person who buys the S52 Eco-Green...cool)

The truth is, I don't really have many answers right now. I love you all a whole lot! There's no way to choose.  It's all coming pretty fast. I feel weird telling people "oh, yeah, I'm going to Guatemala on Saturday for the semester, and I'll come home for the summer. Then I'm going to Africa for next school year. Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa." It feels like the conversation should be more in-depth than that, but it rarely goes further than the "wow" that follows my statement. 

People ask about why I'm going, or what all this means, and truly, I'd love to give an answer. I try, but none ever suffices. A part of me wishes I could give a great answer to the meaning of my journey. Many people tell me how great it is going to be. No offense to them, but when I softly respond "Yeah, I bet," what I'm really thinking is "how could you, or I, or anyone know what it's going to be like?" I'm glad you've got those hopes for me. The overwhelming part of me concerning this new beginning wants nothing to do with expectations or projections of what it's going to be like, and yet I write this big blog and try to squeeze the meaning out of every part of my life. 

Sorry I can't answer the question of "why?" for people, but inside I'm glad that it's unknown. That means there's room for the Holy Spirit to work. This is the central reason that I don't want to define things or have some formula. It's important to me to make plans that allow room for the Spirit. A lot of my busy distractions this past semester seemed to give me a bit more control, and I saw clearly what that was like. 

Enough of the sad stuff. On to some random thoughts. I've been talking with a few friends recently who didn't know I was blogging before I leave. I wondered if a lot of people thought that. If so, I guess people will have a bit to read the first time they take a look. Also, did anyone out there know Br. Dietrich very well? I didn't really know him at all, and it'd be really cool if you could leave some fond memories of him in a comment to this post. Another thing is that I've been told that I should journal in spanish down in Guatemala. As it turns out, a lot of people reading this blog don't know spanish. Weird! right? As I'm keeping up with this down there, I may start writing in spanish. This is my apology in advance. Good luck! Also, I've had a really great time wrestling with my step-sister's (Megan) husky, Phoenix. She likes to bite, but she is fun. I'm almost embarrasses to admit that I haven't enjoyed pets until recently, but I'm glad to say that I'm enjoying them a lot now! Oh and I'm starting to run. Wheeee....

Finally, I want to tell all of you that you are in my heart and prayers. I'm glad a few people have been keeping in touch already, and I hope to hear from more of you. Have a great New Year's celebration and rest of the week. I'll write from Guate as soon as I can. I love you all so much!