It's my birthday

So it's September 3rd again, and here I am one year older. To think that one week from today I will be on the other side of the world blows my mind. I don't know if I have fully grasped the concept yet. It scares me to think about it and it makes me very nervous. I have been told that this is a natural feeling and that if I had no fears whatsoever then I would be kidding myself.

There are so many different thought and expectations that I have about this trip and this experience. If I can take one thing back home, it would be a renewed (actually just new) sense of humbleness. I do not want to be boastful or elitest about my experience over in Tanzania.

When I come back I want to be able to talk about my experience in such away that it is encouraging and relaxing, not a Blitzkrieg of pictures and "you had to be there" stories. I want to be able to show great hospitality, and not because I learned it in Africa, but because I learned it in my heart.

I am going with three other people. One a great friend, one a friend that I would like to get to know better, and finally someone that will become a friend. These three people will be my family, will be my comfort and be my springboard for the next three months. I hope that we can share our thoughts, dreams, and fears with one another. All of us feeling comfort from the presence of the other.

We ask God to guide us on our journey, and to keep us safe. For in God we lay our trust, our faith, and our life.

-PHW