13 hours and counting...

okay, so i started this blog thing 5 months ago, never told anyone about it, and obviously never wrote in it... but now you're reading it, so i must have finally told someone about it...

i will leave columbus today at 4:45 pm to begin the 24+ hour journey to freetown, sierra leone. don't worry, it's not 24 hours in the air -- just 24+ from the time i leave columbus to the time i arrive in freetown. but i'm REALLY good at sleeping in airplanes and airports, and anywhere else for that matter, so it's no big deal that i'm still awake and writing in an online journal at 3:26 am...

the point is that i figure this little blogger deal will be the easiest way for me to stay in touch with everyone while i'm gone. easy for me and easy for you -- assuming that i can remember my password (which i had trouble doing tonight) and that you can remember the web address. so, i'm losing sleep now, but i'll be glad i did this later.

for those of you who i haven't talked to in a while: the summer has absolutely flown by, which i didn't expect at all. i've been living with my parents in a town where i know roughly 3 people my age and working only 30 hours a week at the YMCA. sounds like it wouldn't be worth documenting, but it has actually been A LOT of fun. i have a very great family, and even though we can drive each other crazy sometimes, i'd choose to hang out with them over almost anyone... and while there were times when i wanted to quit my job without notice (like the day when i got puked on AND yelled at by a rabid mother), the kids at the Y were quite amusing if nothing else. there are a few who i will genuinely miss and will probablly tell stories about for years to come. but i'll spare you the stories for now.

i have to get to bed so i can wake up in 3 hours and go to wal-mart, then finish my thank-you cards to all the AWESOME people who are helping me go to freetown. speaking of which, many people have asked what i will be doing while i'm there... the gist of it is that i'll be part of a team committed to learning more about Jesus and serving Him by serving the poor. i'd be happy to give you a more detailed explanation once i get there and know more of what my days will look like. i hope that will suffice for now because i really need some sleep.

signing off...