Mission Trip Giveaway!!!

Howdy folks!
First of all, just wanted to let you all know, I AM working on typing up posts about the trip (with pictures) to FINALLY share on my blog, as well as a "newsletter" to send out to all of you who helped support me so I can share about all the wonderful things that happened while I was in Africa! I feel like I am still sorting through memories and emotions from the trip, every single day. It was definitely a life-changing experience!

With that said, I wanted to take the time to share with you about an amazing opportunity! Kari Gibson, the leader from my trip in July, is going BACK to Ethiopia again in February to lead another team through Visiting Orphans, and in preparing for this trip, she has been led by God to GIVEAWAY not one, but TWO Mission Trips!!! This is an incredible chance for someone who has always wanted to go on a missions trip but may have been held back by the fear of not being able to fund it!

Here's how the Giveaway works: All you have to do is purchase ONE of Kari's amazing t-shirts, right from the "Store" on her blog, found here: http://store.mycrazyadoption.org - she has many different tee designs, for both men and women! Once you have purchased a t-shirt, you are automatically entered into the contest. You can even buy more than one to increase your chances of winning!!! Plus, if you buy a t-shirt, and win the giveaway, you can make the choice to GIVE the trip to someone else (family member, friend, etc.!)

1 T-SHIRT = 1 ENTRY IN GIVEAWAY

Prize: Mission Trip to Ethiopia w/ Visiting Orphans- February 17-26, 2011
Prize Value: $3,100
Number of winners: 2
Ending Date of Giveaway: 10/28/10

To read more about this CRAZY giveaway, go to Kari's website at: www.mycrazyadoption.com

I have already entered myself into the giveaway, and I STRONGLY encourage you to do the same. If for no other reason, just to meet Kari!!! :) She is an amazing, strong, hysterical, crazy, beautiful woman of God and I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to become her friend and serve alongside her in Ethiopia and Uganda! :)

Home!

Hello all!
For those of you who don't have access to my Facebook, just wanted to let you all know that I made it home safely! Unfortunately, I was unable to access Blogger while in Africa, so I couldn't update on here as I had hoped to. Now that I am home though, I will start posting about everything that happened there.
I had every intention of writing this post and giving an overall summary of the trip, and I'm realizing that that's impossible. I saw so much, felt so much, heard so much, experienced so much...there is no way to "sum it all up" - I am sure it will take me FOR-EV-ER to fully document everything, so please be patient with me! It will be worth the wait, I promise :)
Thank you SO MUCH to everyone for all your prayers, they were answered in unbelievable ways. Our team was so amazing, the people and children we met were beautiful, we cried, we laughed, and made "short calls" and "long calls" (more on that later, hehe) :)

Acacia Necklaces

As a way to help me raise the remaining $ needed to cover the cost of my domestic airfare, Visiting Orphans supplied me with the idea and supplies for a really awesome fundraiser! VO has these beautiful necklaces that have been made by widows and single moms in an impoverished community in Kasana, Uganda. VO has named them "acacia necklaces" because you can just picture these women sitting underneath an acacia tree in their community, making these necklaces. Each necklace is made up of beads that are made out of recycled paper - they are so beautiful, and each one is different!

The way the fundraiser works, is I give a necklace to someone in exchange for a $20 donation. From that donation, part of it goes towards my trip, part of it goes to VO to help with orphan care around the world, and (most importantly) part of it goes to the women in Uganda who made them. Each donation for these necklaces is able to give these women a source of income.

My mom has been able to show them to people at work, we set them up at our Tastefully Simple fundraiser (more on that later!), and my sister Wendy even took some to her church. At this point, we've only got about 20 left (out of 50!) They have definitely been a big hit. With that said, if you think you would like one of your own, let me know. One (or more!) can be yours with a donation of only $20 each :)


Thanks to Amanda from Visiting Orphans for setting me up with these, and to my mom and Wendy for helping spread the word about them! :)

Shots: Check!

Well, I did it! I finally got all my vaccinations on Friday. And there were no problems re: not having much time to get them all done by this Saturday! I got three shots in one arm, two in the other, and two oral vaccines to take at home (for malaria and typhoid). I kinda feel like a pincushion...hehe :) Thankfully though, I haven't had any reactions or noticed any side-effects, other than my arms being really sore, mostly from the tetanus shot. (FYI, the yellow fever shot STINGS when it goes in, but you're fine once it's done!)

It was somewhat of a fiasco at the dr's office...I was there a total of 3 hours...not my idea of a fun Friday! There was a huge "argument" between myself, the doctor, and the nurse about one of the vaccines...I was supposed to get the TDaP vaccine (Tetanus, Diptheria, Pertussis) but I knew that I had a severe allergic reaction to the Pertussis part when I was an infant. After my reaction, my pediatrician just gave me the T/D vaccine (w/out Pertussis) from then on. For whatever reason, the doctor yesterday couldn't seem to grasp all that, and kept insisting that if I had gotten the vaccine after my reaction and was fine, I could have it now (WITH the pertussis). So basically, he told me the only way I could get this vaccine, was with the pertussis, and I was SO scared of having some horrible reaction again!

Anyway, long story short(er), I called my mom and ended up in tears, and then the dr. finally told me I could just get the Tetanus/Diptheria without the Pertussis, no problem. (OY!)

The other "fiasco" was I ended up needing 3 more shots than I originally thought I would need...my meningitis vaccine "expired" a year ago...figures. But, hey, this is all part of God's plan, so, I'm not gonna complain (too much...) :) With that said, there were 3 more shots added to my bill (one of them cost about $175), so altogether my bill came to $710 (EEK!!!) I had come with about half of that, and their policy is you HAVE to pay the balance that day, or they won't let you leave. THANKFULLY, my wonderful dad (aka Super-Dad) just happened to be working just around the corner from the office, so I called him to pleeeeeease come bail me out! (No, not out of jail, just the doctor's) :)

(Btw, I know all that probably isn't all that interesting to anyone else, but, it was probably the most emotional and tiresome day I have had, thus far, on my "journey to Africa", so I think I should record it) :p

Prayers Needed, Again! :)

I, Rebecca, being a natural procrastinator, have seemed to dig myself into a hole...

Everyone knows that to go overseas, there are certain vaccinations you HAVE to get before leaving the country. Otherwise, they won't let you in. Normal people go to their doctor's office 4-6 weeks before they leave. As for me? Well, I finally just found out WHERE to go, this past week. And I leave TWO weeks from tomorrow...yeah. Way to go, me.

Part of the problem, is a couple weeks ago, I went to New York for two weeks. It was fanastic - I got to be there for my grandma's surgery, meet my new baby niece, spend a lot of time with my boyfriend and his family, see my extended family (aunts and uncles) that I hadn't seen in 4 years, some HS friends, etc. and I got to go swimming, four-wheeling, etc etc etc.

But, I still didn't have my shots.

Today, I had a day off from work (which I didn't know til this morning...) and I thought: "Sweet! I can try to get my shots!" Oh wait, it's a holiday weekend...one of the two doctors I could go to is closed til Tuesday. Thankfully, the other office was open, but, I can't get an appointment til NEXT Friday. UGH! The receptionist asked where I was going, when I was leaving, how long I was going for, etc, and assured me that I would fine with an appointment that soon before leaving. I really hope she's right...but, I guess I don't have a choice any way! I still plan to call the first doctor's office when they open on Tuesday and see if I can get in any earlier than Friday.

So, if you really took the time to read all that, please pray that: 1) I am able to get in earlier than Friday, 2) if I can't get in any earlier, that I'll still be ok time-wise, and 3) I will have enough money to even PAY for my shots when I go get them, as they probably will not be covered by my insurance...from what I've heard, just one of the 3-4 shots I need is about $150...that's a little less than my paycheck from last week...eek!

Also, I have two more fundraisers that I will be posting about in the next couple days.

And I also have some information to share about donations - pray for that too while you're at it! I'm planning on going to a couple local pharmacies and our Wal-Mart today and tomorrow to "beg" for donations! I have a big fear of rejection...but I'm trying to be "strong and courageous" (Joshua 1:9)

Thanks everyone! :)

Prayers Needed!!!

Before I get to the "bad" news, the good news is I received my full flight itinerary!!! I have updated my Itinerary on the sidebar if you'd like to take a look! Since I am coming from so far away, I will actually be leaving here the night of the 17th.

The only problem is...since I have to fly out of an airport (Anchorage) that does not work with any sister airlines of Ethiopia Airlines, my domestic RT tickets had to be booked separately from my international tickets. This made the cost of my tickets go up...by about $600. Before this added cost, I was only about $100 short of my goal. I'm honestly a little scared about getting the rest of the money, especially seeing as I still have vaccinations and visas and spending money to cover, but, I'm trusting that God will provide! I would appreciate any and all prayers! Also, if anyone has any super (and fast!) fundraising ideas, I would love to hear them! Thanks! :)

Itinerary

Today we all received a more detailed itinerary for our trip from Visiting Orphans, and I feel about 100% more excited now! I was super excited before, but now that we have even more details, I'm ready to do a little dance, lol :) So, for those of you who are interested, I updated the Itinerary on the left sidebar if you'd like to take a look! I'm going to try to do a little research about each of the ministries we'll be working with and post what I find! Thanks for your continued prayers!

Passport!

I got my passport in the mail today! YAYYYYY!!! :) It did not take nearly as long to get here as I thought it would - less than 4 weeks actually! But it's here, and I'm thrilled. One step closer to Africa :)

WOW

This morning I had the idea that I should probably sit down and figure out how much further I have to go 'til I can make the first big payment for my trip by the May 25th deadline.

Seeing as I just graduated from college last week, I have been consumed by thoughts of assignments and deadlines and grades, accompanied by making time for all the usual graduation festivities (which included having my wonderful boyfriend in town for a week!) As a result, my focus on fundraising for Africa has kind of fallen by the wayside for the past few weeks (aside from my absolute frantic prayers that I'll have enough to make the deadline!)

So I sat down today and started crunching numbers.

And I was ASTOUNDED.

Out of the total $3,400 needed for the trip, the amount that I need to raise by May 25th is $2,200.

Wanna know how much I have right now?

$2,247

:)

WOW. To say that I am amazed, is an understatement. I cannot even begin to explain how grateful I am for all the family and friends that have helped get me to this point. I never expected such an outpouring of love and support. You guys are amazing :)

Beyond that, I am astounded at the way in which God has blessed me and proven Himself faithful. I guess I really shouldn't be all that surprised...He has always provided, and always will. I'm really just...astounded. Again.

So...I'd like to give a huge THANK YOU to all my friends and family for your prayers and support (please keep praying!) and an even bigger THANK YOU to God for blessing me beyond belief.



P.S. Keep checking back for more updates! Now that I'm done with school, this trip is becoming my main focus, so I'll be tracking my progress a little more faithfully! :)

Passport

I FINALLY got my passport application turned in on Tuesday! It's really quite pathetic how horrible my procrastination is...I've been meaning to get it turned in for a month now. But, it's on its way and I should have it back in about 4 weeks! Woo hoo!

DONE!

All my support letters are done!!! Finally :) Now I'm off to the post office before I have to go tutor!

 

He's Alive!

Happy Easter everyone!

I saw this video on my friend's Facebook page a while back, and it has stuck with me to this day. It's a long, but beautiful song, and it still gives me goosebumps. Listen to the lyrics, I've also posted them below. Have a blessed Easter! :)




I went to the place He was dining to pour my life on my love
I wrapped my hair around Him and the fragrance drifted up
I didn’t even noticed when the beast began to judge
His love is out of this world and I’m totally undone

He’s alive, He’s alive, and I’ve only just begun to worship Him!

I went to the place where they laid Him, to look upon His face
Angels in garments blazing were standing in His place
I asked them, "Where’s my Lover? Have you hidden Him from me?
Cause I've so much more to give to The One, Who set me free"
They said...

He’s alive, He’s alive and you’ve only just begun to worship Him!

Now I go to places He lingers and I follow Him in my song
I feel His breath on my fingers as I lift Him up
I know this is just the beginning of this wonderful wave
We are riding on a ribbon of never-ending praise

He’s alive, He’s alive and we’ve only just begun to worship Him!

Break us open - we’ve got so much for You!
Won’t You break us open
We want to pour it all on You!
Break us open, break us open, break us open!
Break us open, break us open, break us open!

You’re alive, You’re alive and we’ve only just begun to worship You!

Baby Steps

As of two minutes ago, I am one baby step closer to getting my support letters sent out. All 40 envelopes are labeled and stamped, including the 40 additional self-addressed envelopes. Whew! Now just to finish typing/printing the actual letters. (Details, minor details...)

I thought I would be way further ahead than I am at this point, but, I did get a major presentation done for my Science class last week, and got an A+ on it. I went in to school for the party my class threw for me to celebrate the end of my Residency. I made a presentation for them of my pictures of Maui, and we talked about rainforests, and sea turtles, and whales, and lava tubes, and islands (how convenient that during my Residency I taught units on the rainforest and animals, and that they're currently learning about landforms!) ;) I also tackled a major special surprise yesterday, with niece Mykenna's help, for boyfriend Mike and sister Tricia (no, not a nun, my actual sister) since they will be at work on the slope for Easter. That package is going out today.

So, we're making progress folks. Baby steps. One down, many more to go!

First Post

Here we go :)

Today, I feel like this whole trip has become more "official". I got my packets of information about the trip in an e-mail from Ashlie, one of the team leaders, and after reading over them, and after "chatting" through e-mail with Ashlie (a fellow teacher!), I am about 1,000,000 times more excited!!!

It's slightly (ok, really) overwhelming to be thinking about raising $3,400 before July (a mere four months from now), especially since about half of that needs to be in by May. What's even more overwhelming is the fact that I am also supposed to be graduating from college on May 5th. So I've also got about a million and a half papers and presentations and classes to do before then.

Put simply? How in the world am I going to do this?

But.

I know that God has it all in control :) I'm going on this trip to bring glory to Him, and it may take a small miracle to get me there, but hey, I've seen Him do it before, and He'll do it again.

So. My plan of action for now til the end of this week:
- Make a list of people to send prayer/support letters to (actually done already, I have 62 individuals/families who I think would be willing to help in whatever way)
- Write a support letter rough draft (have Wendy proof it when finished, if she's willing...big sisters are good for stuff like that)
- Start brainstorming other fundraising ideas
- Go and actually submit my passport application (the paperwork sitting on my printer isn't really getting me anywhere...)
AND
- Finish at least 4 major school assignments/papers

Easy? No way.
Do-able? Hopefully.