anticipation.

Right now I am living in one of the best moments of the 365 days it takes us to get around the sun: Christmas eve- technically Christmas now, at 1:18AM- in the moments when I know the only thing left between me and tomorrow morning is a few hours of happy sleep. I've had more than my fill of the Chinese food that is tradition for my family every year, and I'm listening to the sleepy sound of rain outside my window. For me, this is sweet. Downstairs, there are people that love me and dogs that make me laugh, presents being wrapped and pies baking in the oven... does it get much better than this?

And yet something about the rain that is almost cold enough to be snow, the soft sound of it in the darkness, reminds me that there are so many people who aren't where I am. It hurts to think about it- how deep is the need in this world, and how many people are alone. Pray for the first one that comes to your mind as you read this... the lonely, or the sick, or the ones who have very little of very simple things: warmth, food, love.

I feel so rich in these Christmas Eve moments, anticipating even more of this goodness when I wake up in a few hours. For a couple of days now, Christmas has finally seemed to overshadow the preparations for our departure on the 27th. Until this week, it just seemed like December was being devoted to the list of things to do and prayers to pray before the end of the month. Now, it seems like the two events are happily co-existing, filling my heart with perhaps more anticipation than I know how to contain. Can all of this really be happening already?

On Saturday morning, our team came together along with some family and close friends to pray. How amazing to think that we had been in the same place only two weeks before, asking God to supply the thousands of dollars needed to make the trip possible! Our time together was so sweet and encouraging- and such a reminder of how close we are to take-off. Everything about this process of preparation has been unprecedentedly beautiful. Who I am this December is so much more alive and full of faith than the same time twelve months ago. I am grateful, and so thrilled, to be who and where I am right now, and I hope that all my team members could say the same.

That said, WE LEAVE ON SUNDAY. Here are some thoughts for your prayers...

Everyone should be starting their malaria medication by now. It seems like it's impossible to find one that doesn't have undesirable side effects of some kind, but pray that we would be the anomalous group of people who experience none whatsoever.

Luggage loss is unfortunately fairly common in the kind of international transit that we're going to be experiencing (or so I've heard). Pray that every bag makes it through along with every body!

We'll be in the sky for about 20 hours total, providing there are no delays in the air (in which case, longer); pray for safe travels and trustworthy pilots!

And pray that each of us would be attentive to the voice of the Holy Spirit in us, keeping our hearts in line with His. It can be so easy to become very "me-oriented" when you're tired, hot, hungry, frazzled, or just sick of airports. Pray for unity of heart and mind and mission.

That's all for now! More will be coming very soon. I will be updating daily from the 27th through the 9th (providing that wifi is working well the whole time), so keep checking back to know what we're doing and how to pray. :)