Botswana, Africa

After 2 days of travel, we finally arrived on the beautiful Okavanga Dessert of Maun, Botswana. My Aunt Karma and my cousin Christian travelled to meet Daniella, her boyfriend, and 3 of her college friends to work with Love Botswana Outreach Mission. I will be working with the Lorato Baby House..."House of Love,'' where the orphaned babies are housed, most of them with Aids. The oldest is age 2, so as you can imagine, I am extremely excited to pour my love into these beautiful kids! There will be a lot of other projects going on and each of us have some individual works. It will be a very eventful 2 weeks and I couldnt be more excited! I really need this in my life right now. It seems the past few months have been filled with disappointment and setback, but trips like this always seem to remind me of my passion and purpose and I always leave feeling refreshed and more in love than before. I also planned to go from Joburg to Sierra Leone after the first 2 weeks; however, I had to cancel the day before we left because of some safety issues. I will definitely be planning a return in the future.

The most eventful thing happened within the first 10 minutes we arrived. One of the local guys told us to come look at this huge snake so we all ran towards his direction. It was a huge Puffadder, which is a poisonous and deadly snake that is the "fastest striking snake in the world". We watched as he caught it, decapitated and skinned it and then a few minutes later, he threw it on the grill for everyone to try. Wow! I thought I would try it and it was very interesting, much like chicken and a nasty after taste. I think im paying for it now because I have heartburn and a terrible stomachache:( Poor snake..

Also, on my trip back to the states in mid June, I will be laying over in London for a few days where I think I will have some ME time and just explore a bit. I want to use this time to reflect on some things and find some new direction, I also hope to start writing again, which is something I love to do. Im so hopeful for the things this trip has in store and Im open to the wonderful things God is going to do in my life. I need to realize that my plan isn't always the best and to trust his will. This time is definitely a vulnerable and tough time in my life, but I am strong and I have an incredible support system that I appreciate so much. Don't worry, I will be safe, Im not stupid and I can be a pretty savvy traveler :) It's experiences like this that bring the joy back into my life and help me appreciate everything I do have, rather than the things I don't. Thanks for all the prayers and love...see you soon!

Hayden's 1st birthday :)

This weekend my niece turned 1. I cannot believe how fast time flies; it just seemed like she was born yesterday and now all of a sudden she is running around and making puppy noises :) She is literally the pride and joy in my life. She makes me so happy and I love her so much! Im so proud of my sister for being such an incredible, loving mother. Hayden had a great birthday and got plenty of presents to last her the rest of the year! Her best was her Power Wheels Harley :) I can't wait until she can stay the whole week with me and then Aunt Loo can take her to do crazy stuff. Its great to have the benefits of having a kid around, yet you can give them back at the end of the day....she lights up my day:)

Enjoy these awesome pics...she really loved her cake..can you tell? haha