Preparing

It seems as my departure date gets closer my prep scribblings keep getting longer and more abundant! Today I am drowning in papers at my desk....lists of needed school supplies, lists of possible craft ideas to do with the kids, lists of ESL class topics, lists of things to get done before I leave, lists of lesson plans to create....lists, lists, lists (yeah, I'm a firstborn) :). I'm keeping my eyes out for the 40% Michael's coupons each week to stock up on pipe cleaners, paper, stickers, foam shapes, and clay. I'm jotting down notes for classes as they randomly come to me. I'm scanning through books and websites for ideas and resources. I'm emailing the other intern I'll work with, and staff at the orphanage, and prior interns with questions and random trip details to figure out. I'm making a sample scrapbook project to hopefully do with our oldest group of kids this summer. I'm inventorying my closet to make sure I have enough flip flops and shorts to last me two months. I'm pr*ying. I'm sharing about my trip with friends and co-workers and family members. I'm getting more and more excited.

Less than two months from now I'll be teaching English to around 20 kids. I have no experience. Pr*y for me. :) Once I fumble my way through the first several lessons, I know I will have a blast. These children are some of the most precious, lovable little people I've ever met and I can't wait to read stories with them, and recite vocabulary, and play phonics games with them every single school day for two months. I can't wait to give them hugs and hear their laughs and listen to them singing "Jes*s Loves Me" or "The L*rd's Army" for the seven hundredth time in a row. I can't wait to play with them in the houses after our lesson time and push them on the swings and bounce balloons together until they shrivel up in the humidity.

I can't wait to hold the babies and stroke the hands or face of one of the fragile little ones who can't even look up at me. I can't wait to watch a few of the kids leave Shepherd's Field for their forever homes. I can't wait to minister alongside precious sisters and brothers from all over the world with shared love and connection over "our babies" and Father to the Fatherless that they point us to. I can't wait to watch G0d move the stubborn, hard boulders in my heart to make way for streams of His love and mercy to pour through as I meet Him in the faces and lives of the people around me.

The days keep ticking by. There is so much to do before I zip my suitcase for the last time (after sitting on it several times to squash it down, I'm sure!) and step onto that boarding ramp, and yet the time can't seem to go quickly enough. I am so excited. I am bursting with anticipation, my arms quivering to hug all my precious "kids" again. I am getting ready.