Oh here you are....

Stuffed in a plastic bag, tucked in a box, under a pile of books, I found my blog today...Okay, not really, but I was hoping I could blame my delinquency in not posting on the chaos which has moved in and made itself comfortable in my life as of late. If you fear that my long absence in writing may now require some sort of dastardly-long entry of tedious proportions, I'm with you in that trepidation. In the best interest of my readers, then, I think it best to give you the "Cliff Notes" version of the last month or so (oh dear, it indeed has been that long...).

And by way of prologue, I do apologize for not doing a better job at keeping you posted on the latest developments in my progress toward Uganda. 

* I quit my job. Having never really quit a "real" job before this was a weird and scary step to take. I wrote my letter of resignation and had my last day of work on September 1st. I had decided that my last month here should be spent being with the people I love and focusing on the many details that need to get accomplished before I leave. Since the word "unemployed" makes me uncomfortable, I say I am on "elective early short-term retirement"  :)

* I was given my "clearance to depart" last week! This means I'm a-okay to make my travel arrangements and start packing my bags. While my support level is not at 100%, I'm able to make up the difference with some of my own finances at this time. This is actually something I had been praying about before and felt that I wanted to be "mutually invested" financially along with the many people who are supporting me in that way. God has been so faithful to provide for my needs this far, so I'm continuing to wait and see what He will do with the time I have left. 

* This past wednesday marked a pretty important day for me - I bought my plane ticket!! Each one of these steps has brought the notion closer and closer to reality...and now I have a one-way ticket to Uganda....craaazy. So, I get my wings on October 3rd and will arrive into Kampala, Uganda on October 5th!!

* It's been really nice (and strange too) to not have to go to work...I've been able to spend some great time with family and many you, my friends. It's very surreal to think that after all of this anticipation, praying, and planning, this is *finally* and really happening. 

* In all honesty, while my anticipation is great, I'm also nervous. It's hard to conceptualize or really begin to grasp what it means to move to a place I've never even visited and place I know will be vastly different than what my life looks like here. On that note, I really appreciate your prayers...

- lots of logistical stuff: travel plans to be smoothed out, packing to be done (just how does one pack for 2 years??!?!?!)

- what I call "The Art of Leaving"; grace for the how's and when's of saying goodbye to the people I care about

As is my usual for blogging, it is late and I'm fading fast. There is much more to say, I've left out some important things, but for now these highlights will suffice, I think. Thanks for being my readers, prayers, cheerleaders, and friends. I'm so excited that you want to share in this with me.