Heading Out to Africa...

Well, I've gone to my last meeting, am packed, and ready to head off to Africa. With a single carry on stuffed with a few clothes and personal items, mosquito net, ipod, camera, candy for the children, LED lights for some of the homeless, bic pens..these are a huge commodity there, and my bible & journal, I feel tangibly prepared for my mission. At our meeting we spent an hour as a team packing 44 huge trunks full of supplies for our trip. The medical team is bringing everything needed for a triage station. We must have 500 pairs of flip flops. 9 trunks are filled with clothes, and the other trunks have various items to use for our VBS, Building & repair tools, eyeglass clinic supplies, etc. I just feel like we could/should take more, but I know that we are limited with what we can bring due to space & weight on the planes.
Our family is heading out tomorrow morning for the beach (Gulf Shores, Alabama) and I will depart for Africa the morning after we return. I use the term "morning" loosely as we are meeting at 4:00 AM to head to the airport. I also want to announce that ALL THE FUNDS HAVE BEEN RAISED for the mattresses...praise the LORD!!!! Thank you so much to everyone who has donate to the trip, for the mattresses, items to bring, etc. You are all such a blessing and I would not be going if it were not for you all.
The plans have changed once again, which they have at every meeting so far. We will not be taking 3 flights, but will be taking 4 FLIGHTS from Dallas to Axum, Ethiopa. Although the travel time, approx 3 days, looks daunting, I'm actually extrememly excited for the entire experience. I visited briefly with some of the other team members and got mixed emotions from them. We have such a wide range of ages & personalities going on the trip. There are a handful of people who have been on countless missions as well as many who have never been on a mission trip. Some are nervous, some anxious, but everyone had a smile on their face. I'm eager to get to know many of these people. To find out where they come from, what is bringing them on this trip, and then to see how God will use each of them on this trip.
I will do my best to keep everyone posted as the trip progresses. I know that I will be able to connect while in transit to and from Axum. But cannot gurantee any communication while I am in AXUM which will be 5 of the days. Please keep our team in your prayers...and please keep my family in your prayers. Specific Prayer Requests
1. For Humility while serving
2. For Travel Mercies
3. For strength of mind and body
4. For Unity within our group
5. That ALL of our actions and words honor HIM throughout the trip
6. For my sweet family who, without them, I would not be taking this adventure of a lifetime. I love you John, Colton, & Cassidy. Your love and support has enabled me to pack my bags and head 1/2 way around the world to spread HIS love to the nations. ....all my love.....Roz

$20.00 Per Mattress

18 Days to go and counting....We are all getting pumped, nervous, anxious, and excited as our trip date nears. Trying to prepare the family as well as myself for the trip has been quite a job. Thanks to family and friends the crew back home will be well taken care of. God has provided! As my last push before leaving, I am still a bit shy of my goal to be able to buy a mattress for every child in the orphange. The mattresses are $20.00 each and I will personally be there when we purchase and install them (which I am thrilled about). The children currently sleep on wood boards wrapped in blankets. They don't even know what it is like to sleep on a soft surface. What a simple luxury we take for granted. If you would like to donate a mattress or mulitple mattresses, please mail a check to the address to the right of this blog. I'll keep ya'll posted of our progress!
So many of you have donated to the trip and I can't thank you enough. I can't wait to "bring you along" on my trip to spread word of His glory. Thanks ya'll!!!!!