Bad Missionary Joke

I was at the dentist not too long ago for my last check-up before I venture out to where a good dentist may be hard to find.... Surprisingly, I had no cavities!!! Anyway, I was telling the hygentist about my mission trip and she wished me well and told me this really bad joke that I will share with you now.

How do you tell the difference between the new missionary and the experienced one?

If you have a glass of water with a fly floating in it....

The new missionary will refuse to drink it.

The missionary with some experience will take the fly out and drink the water.

The missionary with more experience will drink the water without taking the fly out.

And, the missionary with a lifetime of experience will look at the glass of water and say, "Hey, where's my fly!"

Happy Thanksgiving!

As I sat with my family around a table filled with food and recited the following prayer, it was obvious to me what I am thankful for. I am thankful for my life and the people it in and the opportunities I have to help others. I am thankful for this opportunity I will have to help the people of Kenya and most of all thankful for the help I know they will give me in my life. I am also very thankful to have a family, friends, and a community that support me with their prayers and donations. Thank you all!

A Thanksgiving Prayer

Oh, God when I have food,
help me to remember the hungry;
When I have work, Help me
to remember the jobless;
When I have a warm home,
help me to remember the homeless;
When I am without pain,
help me to remember those who suffer;
And remembering, help
to destroy my complacency
and bestir my compassion.
Make me concerned enough
to help, by word and deed,
those who cry out
for what we take for granted.

~Samuel F. Pugh

My only contact with the outside world...

I'm not normally the type of person that takes advantage of holiday sales to buy things for myself, but this year was the exception. I just got an incredible deal on a laptop computer! It's strange to think that the small village of Malava, despite it's extreme poverty, has internet access. I bought the Compaq Presario C300. It will allow me to check email, update my blog, play DVDs, store digital photos....and in many ways will nearly be my only contact with the outside world. Now, if I can only send these mail-in rebates out in time.

Ticket for Baltimore!

I just spoke with Katherine "Sissy" Corr, one of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in Baltimore. We talked about how difficult fundraising can be and also about basic preparations. This is when she told me that I will be leaving for Baltimore on December 28th! I have just finished booking my flight. Northwest Airlines, flight #260. I fly out of Detroit at 6:49AM. I will be flying out of Baltimore for Kenya on January 3rd 2007! It looks like I will be spending New Years in Baltimore. It's very strange to think that in just over 1 month I will be leaving for Kenya, for a whole year...and it all starts at 6:49AM!

Grateful to have such good friends

I took the bus out to Chicago this weekend to spend some time with some of my best friends before I leave. We ate, we drank, we had great conversation while wandering the streets of the Windy City. I even got lost at one point trying to find the Blue Line train. Carlos, Mike, Laura, Nate, Shannon, and Anne.... I've known them all from the past three summers at Camp Shawnee, a summer camp for children of low-income families, in Appalachia, Kentucky. When I look back, those were some of the best summers of my life....spent with some of the best people of my life. I can't believe I have such great friends to see me off. There is so much going on in all of our lives right now, from new apartments, to new jobs, to finishing school, to going on to graduate studies, and my mission in Kenya....we our all standing on the verge of something great in our lives. By this time next year, we will all have great stories to tell.