and our adventure begins...

hello world!
Anna and Clinton and Shannon here. a mere seven hours until we take off, and it seems as though we have all the time in the world. catching up on emails and watching movies and scrubs, time seems to creep by. Kathleen and Christina are getting ready for bed while we are deciding how much/if sleep is even needed right now. After Shannon's misplaced passport, Anna's forgotten yellow fever documentation, and multiple discussions over what exactly to pack, we are ready to just board the plane and set out on our adventure.
[Shannon] Writing on this blog is proving to be more difficult than expected. Besides daydreaming of Africa during summer classes, actually preparing for this trip has only started recently. Such a demanding schedule has left me dried up at the end of the day and I am hoping that this trip will renew both my energy and passion for life. Don't get me wrong, I want to be a nurse, but after being in study mode for the past year, I am ready for a break. Thanks to Meredith, this trip came at a perfect time and I am ready to be totally absorbed in everything Ethiopia. With no expectations, and an open heart, I am THRILLED to start this trip! Ethiopia, here I come! PS- hit anna when she says the word super.
[Clinton] well i really dont know what to say.... this trip has been hectic for me so far. starting with arriving in NC well before i needed too and not knowing exactly what or where i was going. Luckily the people i have met down here have been amazing and the true definition of southern hospitality. it came as a small surprise to me that i was one of the only ones going on this trip that was currently a young life leader. All summer long i have dreamed of this trip but now that it is so close i find myself giddy with anticipation and eager to go, but with a small dose of hesitation. Don't get me wrong i know that there is a reason i have been called to this trip. but coming not knowing anyone still makes me nervous and wanting to slip into my shy ways. I cant wait to get to know these people, as i am sure that they are all awesome. the only expectation i come into this trip with is that God is going to do amazing things with this group of people in Ethiopia. Whether or not we see this impact i know it will come. I am ready for Ethiopia, I can only hope Ethiopia is ready for me!

[Anna] My Turn!! Honestly, I don't even feel like I am leaving tomorrow...well this morning, but then again ask me when I wake up. I have been looking forward to this trip since I knew about it back in the fall and to actually think that it is here is almost incomprehensible. My day ended up being a typical Robinson day. I forgot my yellow fever vaccine card thing...they say that it is required to enter the country. Yes, I know, I would forget something vital to my trip. But my lovely mom and reluctant brother luckily drove back to Salisbury (where we met Ron) to get it. So I spent 7 1/2 hours in the car today. Unfortunately, I will spend twice as long in an airplane tomorrow. Needless to say, I just want to get to Ethiopia. I can't wait to see this beautiful land. I brought 6 rolls of film, so don't worry, you can see it too!

Preparing Our Hearts

We invite you to "post" anything here you'd like to share, aka. encouragement, thoughts, verses, prayers, etc... Our hope & prayer is that this "Blog" would serve to help record the story behind the awesome Journey the Lord has in store ahead of us, as we set out together this summer to serve Young Life's Mission in Zimbabwe. While we're in Afrika, we'll be posting "Trip Updates" on this page, to allow family & friends praying for us at home, to share this experience with us. The bottom line here is simple... this is God's movement, not ours... & He's going to use this journey together with Him into the heart of Afrika, to change each of our lives forever.

KEEP PRAYING....

"If you CLING to your life, you will LOSE it, but if you GIVE it up for me, you will FIND it." MATTHEW 10:39

"But the one thing we can all agree, all faiths, all ideologies, is that GOD is with the Vulnerable and the Poor. GOD is in the Slums, in the cardboard boxes where the Poor play house... GOD is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives... God is in the Cries heard under the rubble of War... GOD is in the Debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and GOD is With Us... If We Are With Them." - Bono

"People ask me, "Doesn't it Paralyze you to walk so closely & intimately with Suffering?" "No," I tell them. "If I've learned anything from my time in AFRICA, it's that though the suffering is overwhelming, so too is the HOPE." - Jena Lee

"He is no fool who GIVES up what he cannot keep, to GAIN what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliott