On our way

As I type this, I sit on an airplane headed to Detroit from Dallas.  I am exhausted; both physically and emotionally.  As many of you know, we signed a contract to sell our house late last week.  Since that time, we have been frantically trying to get things sorted, packed and stacked so that movers can physically move it next week.  Emotionally, I am spent as well.  We are on our way to Uganda currently and we will be there for 6 months.  Making plans to be gone half of the year, fund raising for our mobile medical clinic and telling friends and loved ones “so long” can start to to wear on a fellow after a while.  I think the main thing that has me exhausted is the last minute cram session of packing and moving last night that only allowed me to sleep from 3:30am-5:00am this morning.

Jill and I want to say thank you to the many friends and family members that helped us through prayer, packing and lifting over the past week. With your help, we have almost completed a huge task.  I was a little overwhelmed this am as some of the same special people showed up at our house at 6:45am to pray over our family before we took off on our journey.  We can never say how much you mean to us.  We walked out the door of our home (for the last time as the owner) and stepped into a medium term medical mission to East Africa, all in one stride.  We have either lost our minds or relinquished control of the part that was in charge of “rational thought”!

We had been looking forward to getting back to Uganda since we left there last Summer, but we had not been looking forward to the 24hours of planes and ports.  Our big move this past week, has made us look forward to sitting and resting for 24 hours!  That whole perspective thing can change your point of view?!?!?!?

We are trying to stay awake on this early flight to Detroit and we plan on sleeping from Detroit to Amsterdam.  I was planning to take medication, if needed, but I somehow don’t think it will be warranted!  We will arrive in Amsterdam around 7:00am on Friday morning.

On our short layover in Amsterdam, I am supposed to meet up with Steve Bredesen.  He is a missionary/pastor from Oklahoma and he is part of Eagle’s Nest Ministries near where we will be living.  I hope to be able to talk with him on the flight from Amsterdam to Uganda.  He will be in Uganda for 10 days before returning to the US.  I hope to be able to provide medical services in a meaningful way to the children in the orphanage and school that Eagle’s Nest serves. 

We are scheduled to arrive in Uganda at 10:20pm tomorrow night.  That will be 1:20pm in Oklahoma.  Our official and professional host Dr Martin, from Africa Renewal Ministries, will be meeting us at the airport and taking us to our apartment in Bugolobi.  I am sure Saturday will be about dancing with circadian rhythms that are off beat and stocking the fridge and pantry.  I am too tired to come up with any witty bits from Great American Philosophers today, but I think I will end this entry with this:  We have many gifts to be thankful for. If I had to rank these gifts, the friends and family that are advocates of our family & Due Unto Others would be at the top.

Thanks again,

Jay