Final Countdown

As of today it's 2 days until I head to Chicago, and 3 days before I'm on a plane ultimately headed for Uganda. Three days from right now I'll probably be preparing to land in Washington D.C.--that's trippy. Yesterday I started packing, which is a huge accomplishment for me; I usually leave packing until the absolute last moment. There are only a few more things I have to buy today, and banking I have to get sorted out, but after that I'm all set and ready to go. When I say "all set and ready" I mean packing wise, I don't know how mentally ready I am yet.
I am SO thrilled to finally be going to Uganda--a lifelong dream finally coming true, but of course I'm still scared/nervous about going to a different country, traveling by myself, and not knowing anyone. Even though I have these fears/worries I have peace in going because my comfort, joy and peace comes from the Lord. I have every confidence [most days :)] that this is what He wants me to do this summer, and I'm so excited to see what He's going to teach me in these next few months. It's a cool feeling, being scared but also knowing, and having peace with the fact, that whatever is suppose to happen will happen. I just wish I had more experience with airports :)
I don't think it has hit me yet that I'll be gone for three months. It seems like such a long time right now, but I know that those months are going to fly by. My first month in Uganda I'll be in Kampala (the capitol city of Uganda), after that I may be transferred to one or both of the other two Babies Homes (one located in Subi and the other in Gulu). I've been working on my Swahili since I've been back home from school, but I'm guessing a lot of my learning with happen in Uganda--once I get immersed in the culture things will start clicking and sticking in my head.
I still have around $200 left to support raise, plus around $600 for white water rafting and going on a safari, but I'm not too worried about those things right now. I'm taking out $500 today in cash to take with me to get started/live off of for my first month. $200 of that $500 will be for my VISA and Speciality Pass for volunteering in Uganda, the remaining $300 with be for living expenses for the month. After that if I need money I will use my debit card and the ATM at the mall in Kampala to get money. I can't wait to dive in and learn about the Ugandan culture and its people!!
Thank you all for your support and for taking time to read this blog, it will be nice to know that people back in the States are reading this and keeping up with what I'm doing.
If you would like to financially support me while I'm in Uganda you can definitely still do that; for more informatin on how, please contact me at mhayd117@uwsp.edu (but know that I'll be checking my e-mail sparcely while in Uganda) or you could contact my mother at mtnestrs@tds.net. Thank you all so much for everything. God bless! :)