Approaching Departure

It's hard to believe that I'll be leaving in just two weeks. This summer has flown by!

After several long conversations with the patient and knowledgeable staff at REI, I now have a backpack, head lamp, and various and sundry other supposedly must-have items. Now the task at hand is to pack. I've found that the list of items deemed "essential" narrows dramatically when you are asked to carry your belongings a few miles. Perhaps there is a lesson here ... the words "consumerism" and "priorities" come to mind. Hmm, sounds like the groundwork for a sermon outline. (Although I'll openly admit that I would be addressing myself as much as anyone else!) I don't see ordination on the horizon, but cherish the opportunities I've had to speak from the pulpit and hope that such opportunities will continue to emerge. There are wonderful examples in my life of laity whose voices are powerful and Spirit-filled - thank you.

When I think about how many people have helped to make this experience possible, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. To the members of the DSC AIDS Task Force, the congregations of First UMC Tucson, St. Francis in the Foothills UMC, Living Hope Community Church, Parker UMC and the Tucson Wesley Foundation, the Clinical Pathology department of University Medical Center, and the many, many individuals across the country who have generously provided gifts of time, resources, words of encouragement, and prayer, I extend my heartfelt thanks. To the patient individuals on two continents who have helped me begin to learn Kiswahili - asante sana. To the bold former U of A students who were courageous enough to begin an international non-profit and dare to believe that they could make a difference - you will forever have my admiration. I am extremely grateful for the families in Tanzania I have yet to meet who have graciously opened their homes and hearts to complete strangers. And, especially, thank you to my family members who have taken the time to join me in learning about Tanzania and about blogs, who have promised to be brave as they watch me go where I am led, having long ago stopped asking questions like, "Aren't there people in Phoenix you could help instead?" Your support means the world to me, and I couldn't do it without you.