Thank You!

Thank yous are in order.

Wow. I am so excited that my friends and family, and family friends were so gracious and generous in donating to my trip! I am just so thankful to everyone who made this possible!! If you have a link to the blog, this 'thank you' most likely applies to you :-)

You are helping me help them. At the risk of sounding completely corny, you didn't just provide me with the experience of a lifetime, your donation is comforting a crying a child, feeding a hungry toddler, and providing hope and a smile to those I encounter. You have made a difference in my life and in theirs :-)

<>Here is what the donations went towards:
- Room and board (food, laundry, water etc. – GLA has their own water brought in which ups the daily cost)
- Transportation fee – due to the civil unrest in Haiti, GLA uses a security escort to transport visitors to and from the Port-au-Prince airport
- Airfare. (apparently there isn't a huge demand to go to Haiti…) <>

Everyone has been so supportive, not just financially. I got so many messages of kind words and encouragement. I'm sure those closest to me are tired of hear me talking about the trip for months now … All my pictures will also be courtesy of a new camera Christmas gift (w/Haiti in mind) from Adam! and Mom pushed her birthday dinner so we could all celebrate together. Everyone at the office was so supportive and were willing to work with me in order for me to take the time off for the trip. And Katie, always inquiring how she can pray for me…
In summary, I am so blessed to have such amazing people in my life. <>

The comments I have heard the most are "be careful" and "don't get sick" As many of you are aware, 2009 hasn't been the most fantastic of years. Around Christmas I was sick, which developed into pneumonia by New Years and seemed like it took forrrever to go away! On the bright side, pneumonia proved to be a fantastic Mexico diet and has since gone away. Also, recently had the stomach flu (see above: 2009 hates me). However, I think this means that I'm done for awhile, don't you? Perhaps even my antibodies are stronger than ever! Alright, so I am the type of person who will get one bug bite at the airport and develop malaria from it. But, it's treatable, so, if that should happen, no worries. Actually, kind of a cool story later on…."remember that one time in Haiti when I got malaria…!"

Ok ok, all kidding aside, I have taken lots of health and safety precautions and anticipate being just fine! I promise to "be careful" and "not get sick" !

....thank you again and again !

I will include more about the orphanage, its location, mission etc. in my next posting.