(Sam)

Oh man!! The time has arrived...it's Tuesday night and we're flying at 6am tomorrow morning so there's very few hours of sleep left.
I am so tired from a ridiculously hectic month, but my head is still spinning too much to head to bed yet.

It feels so surreal that we will be there tomorrow afternoon, in a completely different situation..and so it's hard to actually engage with the feelings that accompany it. We are definitely sad, especially thinking of the last goodbye to our families tomorrow, and also pretty daunted at the thought of what we're stepping into..mostly because of the many uncertainties and even though we've tried to build as much of a picture as possible, I still feel a bit like we're heading into the unknown.

All day today though, amidst the surreal numb feelings and the sadness and uncertainty/stress/fear, I have definitely been getting that jittery excited feeling too!! There's no turning back now. All our stuff is packed, stored or chucked, we have the flight tickets and so we just have to get on the plane and we'll literally be taken there..aagh! I feel slightly inadequate and rather nervous, but also massively excited at the potential of what could happen as we just simply show up and let God use us.

Please Father stir our hearts but calm our nerves, and take us safely there tomorrow. Please guide us in plans and preparations over the next few weeks and then by your grace grant us amazing favour in the community of Medina as we try to build relationships with those we're going to work with, with other services and schools, and above all with the young girls and their families that we desperately want to reach. Help us to understand them and to make decisions that will be transformative and life-giving for them and their whole community. Amen.