Lots coming up

So, it’s the first full week of July and I am in massive planning mode, which is requiring me to make lists. This is unfamiliar territory for me; I’m not much of a list person. Sean’s one of those guys who makes lists, and if he does something that’s not on the list, he will add it to the list so he can check it off. I guess I wanted to see myself as more of a free-spirit who didn’t need lists to remind her of the important things in life. That’s great in theory but forgetting to buy milk three days in a row is not free-spirity – it’s annoying. I’ve been forgetting so much lately. I’m blaming it on turning 40, which worries me because if I forget this much now, when I turn 50 I’m concerned I won’t even remember my name. So I’m becoming a list person. Of course, that means I have to remember to actually make the list…

Anyway, this is a big month for us. Next week we’ll be celebrating Sean’s mom’s side of the family. These dear folks live all over the East coast but they’ve decided to come to Michigan for the reunion. I know the Georgia contingent will be refreshed by the cooler temperatures we’ll have on the lake. I’m sure a fun time will be had by all.

Coach, our fearless leader

Three days after that Sean, the kids and I leave for Africa. I know, I can hardly believe it, either. When the idea was first floated last summer I wasn’t sure it would really happen. But in August the plans firmed up and we committed to go. We tightened the budget (strangled the heck out of it, truth be told), bought the tickets and in two weeks we’ll be on our way to Kenya where we’ll have another reunion.

In 1987 I was a member of a Teen Missions team that went to Kenya where we built a dormitory for a local school. We slept in tents, took baths in buckets, washed our clothes by hand. By normal teenager standards it should have been a miserable trip but it was the best summer of my life. One of my teammates, Dan, is now a full-time missionary in Kenya and he has arranged a reunion for several folks from our team. Four teammates and our two wonderful leaders will be there. I cannot wait to see them and the place where, for the first time, all the stuff I'd heard in church became real.

So, we’re going to Kenya and I need to get a bunch of stuff together because I'm fairly certain there are no Walmarts in Nairobi. I’m making so many lists – my lists have lists: shots, malaria pills, bug spray, refillable water bottles. But this non-list girl is having trouble focusing on the to-do’s when the only to-do she wants to check off is this: Get to Kenya and hug Shannon, Dan, Sharon, Coach and Angela.

Hey. all you people who keep telling me I have to go camping: Look here!  That tent on the left was mine, and here I am, cooking over an open flame. Does this earn me a pass?

Me and my pal Shannon.

I'm sure that scaffolding was super-sturdy.  (And yes, I realize I'm wearing the same shirt in each one of these pictures.  I know I took other shirts... guess it was a favorite.)

The beginnings of the dorm we built.

Almost completed - just a few roof pieces left to place.

Kenya 8720