Sarah Grace Is Home!

I've blogged about this in the past, but finally Sarah-Grace is on her way home! She looks so much older than she did when I first saw her...Maybe I'll get to meet her at the Knight of Betrayal.

Sunlight

This band played at my sister's college recently. Even though I wasn't familiar with their music, I enjoyed it so much. This song, in particular, was so much fun live. I later found out that Noele was a "mentor" to me when I first started to play violin with my church. She sent my father a long e-mail about how a violinist can contribute to the worship experience. I admit...I turned into a fan girl and got everyone to sign a poster advertising the event. Cheesy? Perhaps. But I enjoyed it :-) Hopefully I'll see them play live again!

Zambia & Finances

Update on Zambia: It's expensive!

You're probably laughing at me, and rightly so :-) I am, at times, slightly amused that I accepted such a financial responsibility while being "unemployed." My two current jobs don't count as employment, because I work approximately 40 hours/month. I could at least quadruple that.

Anyway, I'd appreciate it if y'all could pray for me. $1250 is due to the church office by Friday, and I have (maybe) half of that amount. I know that God will provide, because he is the one leading me on this trip and he fulfills all his promises. However, I need faith to believe in his promises and trust that God is not just a thought, but a real, actual being who can sustain me financially. In addition, I have an interview on Thursday with a reputable company near my neighborhood who is hiring. This job is far from my ideal job, but does involve a paycheck and might just be God's provision. I would appreciate prayer for this, as well.

Thank you so much for your support! I'm applying for a visa next weekend, just got shots, and will buy insurance tomorrow. Things are rolling, and I'm excited! Random: I'm taking the typhoid vaccination as a series of pills, because that was cheaper than an injection. So I'm currently wearing an orange rubber bracelet that says "Remember Oral Typhoid Vaccine." The reactions have been rather amusing. Everyone thinks it's some moral cause, when in fact I'm just trying to remember every other day that I can't eat for a period of 3 hours, during which I gotta swallow a plastic pill.

Walking through Ndola

I've been reading the blog of Shawn, who left graduate school at Notre Dame to see what he could do to eradicate poverty. I find his Uncultured Project fascinating, because he's worked incredibly hard to sustain himself and his project. He hopes (and has succeeded) to inspire others to see what they can do to eradicate poverty. He recently blogged about walking through a slum. I was reminded of my trip to Zambia, and wondered how similar my experiences of working with people in Zambia will be.

Ze Bike

Today I fixed up my bike. It was pretty fun. I've never done much to it other than filling the tires and oiling the chain. It did get a tune-up once, about a year after I got it. Today I took a toothbrush to the gears and chain, trying to get rid of the fuzzy look.

This bike (2002 Schwinn Voyageur AL) is so comfortable. I know it's a sissy bike, but considering the kind of biking I've done in the past it's great. I got it (as a graduation gift) right before biking the C & O Canal trail, which is a sissy trail, so I figured a sissy bike would be appropriate :-) My mom even likes to ride this bike because it's comfortable. So, now I'm ready for biking trips! A few of my friends are doing the MS 150 bike race, and have had several training runs already. Maybe next time they go biking I'll be able to come.