Preparing to depart

I can't believe it, but I'm leaving for Kenya in less than a week!! This weekend I'll be in Grand Rapids for Val and Mike's wedding and then I'll be leaving from Detroit to Kenya next Tuesday (June 9).

Plans for my trip are coming together and I'm starting to get a clearer picture of what my summer will look like (though there are still many uncertainties...). For the first 3 weeks, I'll be with a group from The 1010 Project (www.the1010project.org). We'll be visiting various community based organizations (CBOs), meeting people and learning about poverty - very similar to the last time I went to Kenya, 3 years ago. After that, I will spend a week visiting friends and then I'll go to Tumaini, an orphanage in Nairobi (www.tumainiministries.org) for the rest of the summer.

As I prepare to depart for Michigan and then Kenya, I have a few prayer requests:

• Safe travels for me as I travel to Michigan and then to Kenya and for the rest of the 1010 group
• Goodbyes - I'll be saying "goodbye for now" to most of my closest friends from Calvin this weekend
• Hellos - getting to know the rest of the 1010 group and our hosts in Kenya
• Adjustments for all of us as we spend time in a culture very different than our own