calling card

the apoto in this photo is hillary, and she is one of the funniest people i know. we were on the same servant team in 2005, and i am honestly having a hard time imagining life in sierra leone without her. we had a good long talk last night in which i laughed hard enough that my brother came from the basement to the front porch to find out what was wrong with me. we were just finalizing some plans for our upcoming entertainment venture, The Bachelorette; West Africa. i'll spare you the details for now.

i got a call from my buddy kwame today. i can't believe that he'll be 12 (or maybe even 13?) when i see him again. so sad. i feel like i've missed so much! anyway, i was quite excited to hear his voice and then the connection cut out. of course. so i spent the following 2 hours buying a calling card online (which is much more complicated than it should be) and then trying to get through to noah's phone. i never did get through but managed to get in touch with faye who said she would tell the boys that i had been trying to call. i'll try again tomorrow.

the last few weeks have been full and fun. i took a road trip with my mom, grandma, aunt, cousin, and cousin's daughter to alabama to visit my grandma's sister and her kids and grandkids. it was a riot. my brother and i have taken to referring to said adventure as "mosley girls gone wild."

a few hours after arriving home from alabama, i hopped a plane to nebraska for the WMF retreat/conference. it was incredible. it felt a bit like going home. i think i always forget how amazing these people are, and i really feel like i'm a fraud or something that i get to be a part of them and call them my friends. like maybe someday they will find out that i've fooled them all and they'll kick me out. but they are such beautiful and gracious and thoughtful people... i have much to learn from every single one of them. it was a really fun and special time. i laughed, cried, prayed, felt, and sat in awe of God more than i have in a long time. i was also violently ill for a couple of days, but my wonderful roomie, jara, took good care of me and i recovered quickly. you don't want the details on those days. trust me.

after the retreat i spent a couple of days in omaha with the smyths, grays, leslie, and others. love them all. hate that they're so far away. spent a day at home, then drove to eastern ohio to see some old-school friends at hollow rock camp. i hadn't been there in a couple of years, and i kinda had some holiness movement culture shock, but i was surrounded by good people who understand and help me work through the funk when it is too much to laugh about. but mostly we just laugh about it.

now i'm back in circleville. working on the details. rabies vaccines. writing a will (!?!?!?!?!). watching the price of plane tickets rise. hoping to leave the first week in september. i'll let you know when the ticket has been purchased. love to all.