Saturday, September 25, 2010

S.T.A.R.

Okay, the only reason I am posting today is because our internet is sooo slow right now and this is one of the few sites that actually opened and I need to vent!  It is Saturday morning and I have been up since 5:10am because I had so many random important thoughts pinging through my head, that I finally got up and wrote them down.  At the moment I have at least 6 different lists going of things to do.  I need to do what we preach at preschool and that is Stop, Take a deep breath, And Relax.  Be a STAR Miss Sue! 

I am leaving the house at 7:30 and won't return until after dinner.  We have two baby showers to go to today and we have to squeeze in a Costco run, a Target run, a grocery store run and whatever other errands we need to do between them and on the way home.  It sounds like I am complaining, but it will all be fine and we are really enjoying Anna & Guillermo's visit.  Unfortunately, they leave the day before we leave, so while we hang out with them, we are also packing and repacking and generally have piles strewn all over the house.

Let me say for the record, that I have much to be thankful for and if a little stress comes with all that, then so be it.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

They're Here!



Anna & Guillermo arrived last night from Honduras. Rachel picked them up from DIA and we met them half way. It is so nice to have them here again and see how our soon to be grandson is progressing. They will be here until the 1st of October and then we leave on the 2nd for Liberia.  It will be a busy two weeks.

We took a little ride around the area with Guillermo this morning to take some pictures of the aspens. They aren't at their peak yet, but getting close. Fall is such a beautiful time of year in the Rockies.   I'm including a few that made the cut.


Friday, September 3, 2010

Liberia
Our visas have been sent off, we have each gotten at least three vaccinations, there are Typhoid pills in the fridge waiting to be taken in a few weeks and Malaria pills and antibiotics to be picked up at the pharmacy, we even bought some nasty stuff to wash our clothes in to further keep away the mosquitoes. We are doing all the things that we should have done a long time ago, like getting our affairs in order and having a will drawn up. I guess for some people hopping on a jet and heading to the West Coast of Africa to a war torn, post conflict country is no big deal, but we are feeling a little intimidated and looking for things to make us feel more comfortable with our decision.

We are going to Monrovia, Liberia October 2 - 18. Our church, First Presbyterian of Boulder, is working with a group called Global Strategies. Their mission it is to implement international strategies to prevent HIV infection and care for those affected by HIV by means of strategic alliances with those who share in a compassion for alleviating the suffering of women and children. We will be staying at St. Joseph’s Catholic Hospital and working in the area of facility maintenance. I hope to visit a school and several other places while we are there.

We certainly didn't go looking for an African adventure (we thought Honduras was a big stretch). We are out of our comfort zone and also feeling a little out of control, but I guess that is exactly where God wants you sometimes. I always liked that saying, "Give Up and Let God".
I guess we will find out what that means.

On another note…
I just finished reading the book, "The House at Sugar Beach" In Search of a Lost African Childhood, a memoir by Helene Cooper. I have read several books on Liberia, but I especially liked this one. Through her story of growing up just outside of Monrovia and fleeing to the United States as the conflict becomes unbearable, you learn the history of Liberia, past and present. I have to admit, that before our adventure began to unfold, I didn't even know where Liberia was on the map, let alone its connection to the United States, etc., but slowly I am beginning to feel a small connection to that far away place.