Well - the time has finally arrived - time to go. I'm just finishing up packing tonight - waiting to hear from a few friends for some last minute goodbyes - and finalizing any other details that may come up. I fly to Chicago at 1:35 tomorrow afternoon and then I'll be out of contact (with the exception of a few emails here and there) until August. I'm not going to worry about posting here while I'm gone, but my lovely friend will be posting my emails on the PureVolume site we used for the benefit concert. www.purevolume.com/ReadyTogo if you want to check it out.
To sum up the last few weeks - another of my infamous lists.
1. Met and surpassed my support goal in plenty of time for the deadline.
2. Hosted an incredible benefit concert to raise money for all my extra expenses - it was immensely successful and it was such a fun night. I gave a little talk in the middle, and I was so pleased to see how Dad moved and used my words to encourage people.
3. Went out to the agency headquarters and helped them prepare some of the documents for orientation. It was so much fun - and such a good chance to get to know the people that have helped me get this far in my dream to go to Togo.
4. Spent a lot (and I mean a lot) of time with my good friends, my pod peas, if you will - and enjoyed every moment.
5. Got my last shot today! YAY!!!
6. Finished writing all my thank you notes today as well - another yay!
7. Received a lovely journal from my beloved friend - one I can't wait to fill up with stories of my adventures in Africa.
8. I'm going to Togo in a week!!!
Thank you all who follow this blog - I hope it's been entertaining and informative. When I get back I'm planning to upload pictures and journal entries from my time in Togo...so check back in August sometime!
I love you all. Keep me in your thoughts and remember me as you're talking to our Father, ok??
1.4.3
Kayla
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
A Long Overdue Update
I am excited to tell you all many things after a month of silence:
1. Booked my flight to Chicago for orientation! I leave on the 6th of June!
2. Got my international itinerary - actually hit land in Togo on June 13th!
3. Have another new teammate - that brings my team to 3 guys and 5 girls including me.
4. Only have one shot to go - all the rest are done! (Yellow fever was a nightmare...major headache, wanted to puke, etc.)
5. Have met and surpassed my 1/2 way mark for support!
6. Found out today that we'll be hosting a benefit concert on May 30th for an additional boost in the support raising process!
7. I now am the proud owner of the smallest sleeping bag known to man. :) (Thanks mom!)
I'm going to go to Togo...in a month! (Really excited, and really freaking out!)
1.4.3
~kl
1. Booked my flight to Chicago for orientation! I leave on the 6th of June!
2. Got my international itinerary - actually hit land in Togo on June 13th!
3. Have another new teammate - that brings my team to 3 guys and 5 girls including me.
4. Only have one shot to go - all the rest are done! (Yellow fever was a nightmare...major headache, wanted to puke, etc.)
5. Have met and surpassed my 1/2 way mark for support!
6. Found out today that we'll be hosting a benefit concert on May 30th for an additional boost in the support raising process!
7. I now am the proud owner of the smallest sleeping bag known to man. :) (Thanks mom!)
I'm going to go to Togo...in a month! (Really excited, and really freaking out!)
1.4.3
~kl
Friday, April 11, 2008
Not Quite Ready Togo
Well, I'm not - it's true. I realized I have 8 weeks left to get ready. Sounds like a long time. Feels like a short time. And an eternity, if that makes any sense at all. Nevertheless, I am excited today because I found out we have a new team member - another guy. I told him he was an answer to prayers because until today we only had one guy coming and I didn't want him to have to spend two whole months without any other man to befriend. Not that spending a summer with 5 beautiful women isn't a huge blessing - but there's a lot to be said for male bonding, right? I'm also really excited because my team has been in touch a lot today - and it's just great to hear from them and get some encouragement and give some encouragement. So overall, a good day. I'm not quite ready Togo, but I'm getting there. I know it's gonna happen fast...today is 8 weeks and counting. Amazing! Keep lifting me up, will ya? Many thanks!
1.4.3
~kl
1.4.3
~kl
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Traveling Skirts and Typhoid
I am so excited this week because I have inherited a traveling skirt! It's been to Africa several times already and a dear friend of mine has lent it to me to take it back to Africa this summer! It was so funny, we had a great time last night looking at pictures of all the places this lovely skirt has been and all the people who have worn it. I'm honored and blessed to have the chance to give this skirt an opportunity to continue its travels.
In other news, I've been invited to help with some logistics and facilitating team time over the summer, so I get to go up to Chicago a few days early for some additional training. I'm excited! I've heard that the college our orientation is at is incredible and that they have an amazing library and a really awesome museum. I can't wait!!!! Oh my gosh, I can't wait. It's starting to hit home that I'm actually going - I'm actually going to be in Chicago and then heading to Togo and staying there. For 2 months. Wow. I'm nervous - I hear the middle part of the trip is the hardest because that's when the novelty fades and the homesickness sets in. I've also heard that just as you begin to accept that you're staying the trip comes to an end all too soon. Right now I think the beginning of the trip can't come soon enough.
I'm avoiding the Typhoid vaccine that's in my refrigerator (it's an oral vaccine that I have to take every other day for a week). I think I'm going to start taking it tomorrow. I'm also waiting to hear back from the health center so I can get my yellow fever shot. Eew! I have to call my doctor too and see if I can get a meningitis shot from him. And my polio shot too.
Lovely, isn't it? I'm starting to realize just how much preparation is left to be done before I can actually leave. Merciful heavens. I don't even know how to do half the stuff I need to. Like getting a hold of travelers checks. Or finding out what kind of outlets they use in Togo. I think I'm just going to be asking a lot of questions and sending up a lot of requests to our Father. I think that's not a bad way to prepare though.
Support is coming in steadily right now. Gotta start follow up calls soon. Send up some love to the big guy upstairs if you will. Many thanks. Grace and peace.
143
~kl
In other news, I've been invited to help with some logistics and facilitating team time over the summer, so I get to go up to Chicago a few days early for some additional training. I'm excited! I've heard that the college our orientation is at is incredible and that they have an amazing library and a really awesome museum. I can't wait!!!! Oh my gosh, I can't wait. It's starting to hit home that I'm actually going - I'm actually going to be in Chicago and then heading to Togo and staying there. For 2 months. Wow. I'm nervous - I hear the middle part of the trip is the hardest because that's when the novelty fades and the homesickness sets in. I've also heard that just as you begin to accept that you're staying the trip comes to an end all too soon. Right now I think the beginning of the trip can't come soon enough.
I'm avoiding the Typhoid vaccine that's in my refrigerator (it's an oral vaccine that I have to take every other day for a week). I think I'm going to start taking it tomorrow. I'm also waiting to hear back from the health center so I can get my yellow fever shot. Eew! I have to call my doctor too and see if I can get a meningitis shot from him. And my polio shot too.
Lovely, isn't it? I'm starting to realize just how much preparation is left to be done before I can actually leave. Merciful heavens. I don't even know how to do half the stuff I need to. Like getting a hold of travelers checks. Or finding out what kind of outlets they use in Togo. I think I'm just going to be asking a lot of questions and sending up a lot of requests to our Father. I think that's not a bad way to prepare though.
Support is coming in steadily right now. Gotta start follow up calls soon. Send up some love to the big guy upstairs if you will. Many thanks. Grace and peace.
143
~kl
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Who Knew?
Who knew that Pampered Chef, Arbonne, car washes, and the generosity of strangers would all come together to send me to Africa? It's such a blessing! I don't know why I doubt someone whose very name is Provider, but being human, I suppose doubt comes naturally. Nevertheless just as my nature never fails me, neither does His. (I like His nature a lot better though!) For those who are curious - I am about 1/4 of the way to my final goal in terms of support. I also had a lovely visit with the travel clinician at the university last week and he gave me lots and lots of pills...and I have to go in for shots. Oh well...that's all part of going to Togo. I'm getting excited! (Well, some days I'm excited, others I'm just overwhelmed with everything else that needs to happen...you know how that is.) But for right now - I'm just thankful and hopeful. I'll leave it at that...more to come soon, I promise!
~kl
~kl
Monday, March 17, 2008
Good News
This week was productive - support is starting to come in! PTL! I didn't get to everything I wanted to, but I got to a lot. Still have to start follow up phone calls. One thing I'm learning is that support-raising is an awesome chance to be a great witness through your actions - through your diligence, through your gratitude, and through your humility. It's so cool talking to people and hearing all their stories and experience with other people who have served and traveled abroad. I am learning a lot about the people who are supporting me just through the conversations that this trip leads to. It's awesome.
I'm also learning a lot from others who have gone to Africa in the past - little tricks about what kind of gear to buy and what kinds of things to expect. I've been told that the best thing I could possibly bring for me and my team is garlic salt. (I hope that makes you laugh out loud!) My dear friend advised me that garlic salt is the only thing that saved her from getting bored out of her mind with eating the same things every day. She also suggested that I journal a lot while I'm there, which is something I'd been hoping to do anyway. She was telling me that there are a lot of things she wishes she had journaled about because she can't remember things as clearly now as she thought she would be able to. I think I'm going to buy myself a new journal to fill up while I'm there (because I'm a neurotic freak and can't journal about different topics in the same journal). I'm really looking forward to having that to look back on when I come home.
I still don't think I really grasp the reality of what I'm going to do this summer. Being away from home, from family, from friends, from church, from everything I've ever known hasn't really set in in my mind yet. When I do take the time to think about the magnitude of what that means, I get overwhelmed and excited at the same time. I can't wait because I know the work we're going to do in Togo will be meaningful and life changing. I know by the end of the summer I'll wish I could stay longer. But I know it's going to be hard. Hard work physically, emotionally, and mentally. I don't really know if there's any way to prepare for that kind of emotional upset. Sometimes I wonder if I should or if the beauty of going through a change as big as the one I'm heading toward is in letting Abba carry you through it. So maybe the preparation I need is not learning to anticipate and avoid the change but to trust in Him through the change. It's hard to say. I guess my biggest hope at this point is that I don't end up getting more out of this trip than the people I'm going to serve. I want to milk every moment I'm there for all it's worth - to learn and grow and change and become more of the person Abba is calling me to be. But I'm not going there for me. If my only desire was to grow and change myself I could stay here, you know? But my desire is to see the nations change - to see the Good News shared and to see people coming to know the Truth. That seems like such a lofty goal when I sit here and write it down, and it seems like a goal that in the achieving will change me just as much as it changes others. Abba's funny like that, I think. He's glorious. And He will be glorified no matter where I am or what I'm doing. If you are one who is lifting me up to our Father, please specifically ask that He would show me His glory and that He would continue teaching me to reflect His glory. That's my biggest hope and desire right now as I prepare to go and for while I am gone. Thank you!
Ready Togo,
~kl
I'm also learning a lot from others who have gone to Africa in the past - little tricks about what kind of gear to buy and what kinds of things to expect. I've been told that the best thing I could possibly bring for me and my team is garlic salt. (I hope that makes you laugh out loud!) My dear friend advised me that garlic salt is the only thing that saved her from getting bored out of her mind with eating the same things every day. She also suggested that I journal a lot while I'm there, which is something I'd been hoping to do anyway. She was telling me that there are a lot of things she wishes she had journaled about because she can't remember things as clearly now as she thought she would be able to. I think I'm going to buy myself a new journal to fill up while I'm there (because I'm a neurotic freak and can't journal about different topics in the same journal). I'm really looking forward to having that to look back on when I come home.
I still don't think I really grasp the reality of what I'm going to do this summer. Being away from home, from family, from friends, from church, from everything I've ever known hasn't really set in in my mind yet. When I do take the time to think about the magnitude of what that means, I get overwhelmed and excited at the same time. I can't wait because I know the work we're going to do in Togo will be meaningful and life changing. I know by the end of the summer I'll wish I could stay longer. But I know it's going to be hard. Hard work physically, emotionally, and mentally. I don't really know if there's any way to prepare for that kind of emotional upset. Sometimes I wonder if I should or if the beauty of going through a change as big as the one I'm heading toward is in letting Abba carry you through it. So maybe the preparation I need is not learning to anticipate and avoid the change but to trust in Him through the change. It's hard to say. I guess my biggest hope at this point is that I don't end up getting more out of this trip than the people I'm going to serve. I want to milk every moment I'm there for all it's worth - to learn and grow and change and become more of the person Abba is calling me to be. But I'm not going there for me. If my only desire was to grow and change myself I could stay here, you know? But my desire is to see the nations change - to see the Good News shared and to see people coming to know the Truth. That seems like such a lofty goal when I sit here and write it down, and it seems like a goal that in the achieving will change me just as much as it changes others. Abba's funny like that, I think. He's glorious. And He will be glorified no matter where I am or what I'm doing. If you are one who is lifting me up to our Father, please specifically ask that He would show me His glory and that He would continue teaching me to reflect His glory. That's my biggest hope and desire right now as I prepare to go and for while I am gone. Thank you!
Ready Togo,
~kl
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Support
Good news last week - I have my first supporter! Still a lot of support left to raise though...so if you're still reading, please keep praying. I really don't know how Abba is going to pull this one off - then again I don't know why I doubt, He's never failed me before.
I emailed some of the other people who will be going with me this summer...got one response already. I definitely did a little happy dance when I read the response, because so far both the people I've been in touch with are really wonderful. I can't wait to meet everyone!
Don't have all that much else to talk about relating to the trip today - but I will post again as soon as I do. :)
Ready Togo,
~kl
I emailed some of the other people who will be going with me this summer...got one response already. I definitely did a little happy dance when I read the response, because so far both the people I've been in touch with are really wonderful. I can't wait to meet everyone!
Don't have all that much else to talk about relating to the trip today - but I will post again as soon as I do. :)
Ready Togo,
~kl
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Waiting Togo
The letters are out, and I've found myself on my knees so much this week as a result. I can't help it - I'm really nervous because everything I've been hearing is that support is hard to come by right now. People's budgets are tight - but I know my Father is the provider of every good and perfect gift, so I will get comfy on my knees and wait on His gifts.
I think this week I'm going to try to email some of the people I'll be staying with in Togo. I have contact information, so I think it's about time to make contact. :) Maybe I can get some questions answered about what I need to pack and where I'll be staying and such. I was talking to another friend who is going to Africa for the summer and she and I had to laugh because we are both so used to knowing all the details about everything and yet somehow we both are ok with not knowing all that much about what this summer holds for us.
I have been thinking a lot about the people I'm going with, looking forward to meeting them, figuring out who I am with them. A lot of the time I feel like who I am is very much dependant on who I am with - and I'm wondering who I am with the people I'm going to meet. Maybe not who I am so much as how I am. Funny how the same three letters, when rearranged, have such different meaning. I'm looking forward to not having any boundaries to my personality - not being constrained by school pressures, family pressures, or even church pressures - just being all about Jesus for a while. It's so easy to get distracted here, you know? So easy to get to the point where you have to schedule Abba into your day rather than meeting with Him daily. I want to meet with Him daily without feeling like I'm shirking out on some other responsibility. I want to put the Lover of my soul in His proper place and I want to see other people fall in love with Him. That's my desire...can't wait!
Hopefully Waiting Togo
~kl
I think this week I'm going to try to email some of the people I'll be staying with in Togo. I have contact information, so I think it's about time to make contact. :) Maybe I can get some questions answered about what I need to pack and where I'll be staying and such. I was talking to another friend who is going to Africa for the summer and she and I had to laugh because we are both so used to knowing all the details about everything and yet somehow we both are ok with not knowing all that much about what this summer holds for us.
I have been thinking a lot about the people I'm going with, looking forward to meeting them, figuring out who I am with them. A lot of the time I feel like who I am is very much dependant on who I am with - and I'm wondering who I am with the people I'm going to meet. Maybe not who I am so much as how I am. Funny how the same three letters, when rearranged, have such different meaning. I'm looking forward to not having any boundaries to my personality - not being constrained by school pressures, family pressures, or even church pressures - just being all about Jesus for a while. It's so easy to get distracted here, you know? So easy to get to the point where you have to schedule Abba into your day rather than meeting with Him daily. I want to meet with Him daily without feeling like I'm shirking out on some other responsibility. I want to put the Lover of my soul in His proper place and I want to see other people fall in love with Him. That's my desire...can't wait!
Hopefully Waiting Togo
~kl
Monday, February 4, 2008
Paper and Ink
Well friends,
It seems that progress is slow in the early stages of preparing to go to Togo. I have every intention of writing my support letters a.s.a.p. and in the meantime I'm trying to prepare in other ways - mentally, emotionally, physically, etc. I know realistically that those ways are just as important as the other tangible things I have to do to get ready, but it's hard not to get just a little discouraged when I think that the only "real" preparations I've been able to make thus far revolve around buying some paper and ink. The paper and ink will be useful, of course, in printing the support letters...but still. Why does paperwork always seem more important than knee-work?
Food for thought as I get ready Togo...
Kayla
It seems that progress is slow in the early stages of preparing to go to Togo. I have every intention of writing my support letters a.s.a.p. and in the meantime I'm trying to prepare in other ways - mentally, emotionally, physically, etc. I know realistically that those ways are just as important as the other tangible things I have to do to get ready, but it's hard not to get just a little discouraged when I think that the only "real" preparations I've been able to make thus far revolve around buying some paper and ink. The paper and ink will be useful, of course, in printing the support letters...but still. Why does paperwork always seem more important than knee-work?
Food for thought as I get ready Togo...
Kayla
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Ready Togo
And thus begins my journey...well, one of many journeys I'll be embarking on in the coming months. But this journey specifically will be taking me far outside of everything I've ever known. It's a journey I've been longing to take for much longer than even I realized, and so it is with great enthusiasm that I inform you that this summer I will be spending two months in Togo, West Africa! This is such an awesome opportunity and I can't even begin to explain how excited I am to start making preparations and plans - to start getting ready togo. I'm hoping to use this blog as a tool to keep everyone up to date on how the preparations are coming, and to keep track of (and maybe get answers to) all of the silly questions I come up with as I get ready for this summer. For example, the packing list suggests we bring an iPod or some other music-playing device - what I'd like to know is where can I find an adaptor to be able to plug in my iPod or computer or camera...or any other device, for that matter? Should I even bother to bring the laptop, or is that just extra weight? But if I don't bring it, how will I get pictures off my camera and onto a computer? Silly questions, huh? But questions that need answering! Anyways, I'm also hoping to use this blog to fill you in on the cool things I learn about the Togolese culture, and perhaps to keep you posted while I'm actually in Togo (not too sure what the Internet connection will be like while I'm there). I'm sure you all know how much work goes into preparing for a trip like this, especially my fellow believers, so please keep on lifting me up to the Father throughout this journey. It's gonna be a wild ride!
Ready Togo,
Kayla
Ready Togo,
Kayla
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