Africa, Israel, What I Know So Far...

So, this week and last has been a WHIRLWIND planning/preparation for our trip to Africa.  We still have a good bit to do, but somehow we've managed to get a LOT done already!  SO, here's a brief run-down of what we've been and will be doing.

-- Prep for the Journey --

We will be working with traumatized youth in a village called Gulu, Uganda.  It's a SUPER-long, winding, and difficult story to explain (I don't even know all the ins and outs of it!), but suffice to say that this village has seen atrocities that we could never IMAGINE.  Thus, they are traumatized--suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression/anxiety, and suicide.  Invest in Children (the organization I'm going with) uses music and art to help kids all over the world -- Indian reservations, Russian orphanages, hurricane-ravaged Honduras, etc. -- recover from their wounds.  While we are in Uganda, we'll be hosting a weekend camp for kids and then training the teachers in the community on how to work with these youth.  

I've been learning a LOT about the brain -- how trauma (even minor) can cause a change in mood, behavior, and cognitive ability -- and much of what I've been learning I'll be teaching at the training.  

-- The Trip Itinerary --

Tuesday, Feb 24th

Depart Charleston at noon, for Newark.  Depart Newark at 7 pm for an overnight flight to Amsterdam.  

Wednesday, Feb 25th 

Arrive in Amsterdam at 8:15 am.  BRING ON THE HASH BARS!  Hahaha... just kidding.  Depart for Entebbe, Uganda at 11 am and arrive at 9 pm.  Stay in Kampala.  SO, the first leg of the trip will take us 18 hours.  

Thursday, Feb 26th 

Adjust, sleep, acclimate to the new climate, culture, and time zone!

From Explore. Dream. Discover.

Friday, Feb 27th

Prep for camp and head to Gulu.

Saturday and Sunday, Feb 28th and Mar 1st

Kid's camp in Gulu.  I'll be leading worship, small group, and teaching the "soul cards" class (basically collages), and whatever else needs to be done!  Here's an example of my soul card.  The theme of the collage is "Things that Give me Hope"

From Explore. Dream. Discover.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Mar 2-4th

Trip to Murchison Falls National Park for rest and relaxation, preparation, a safari?, shopping?

Thursday or Friday, Mar 5th or 6th

Back in Gulu to prep for teacher training.  

Saturday, Mar 7th

Teacher training.  I'll be teaching the session on PTSD and Soul Cards.

Sunday, Mar 8th

Church?

Monday, Mar 9th

Depart at 5 pm for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  Arrive at 7:15.

From Explore. Dream. Discover.

Tuesday, Mar 10th

Meet with pastors and counselors seeking to open a safehouse for women and children escaping the sex trade.  Will probably learn more about this in the near future.

Weds, Mar 11th

Depart Ethiopia at 11pm

Thurs, Mar 12th

Arrive Tel Aviv at almost 3 am.

From Explore. Dream. Discover.

Friday-Sunday, Mar 13-15th

Meet with contacts about camps, tour Jerusalem, maybe go to Bethlehem?

From Explore. Dream. Discover.

Monday, March 16th

Depart Tel Aviv at 10 am, Arrive in Newark at 4 pm (a 12 hour flight, though!); Arrive in Charleston at 10:30 pm.  HOME!!

In all, I'll be logging almost 17,000 miles and almost 40 hours in the air.  QUITE a journey, eh? But rest assured, I'll be logging every step of the way -- I invested in a 1 gig memory card and extra lithium batteries, I'll be blogging and uploading my pictures every chance I get (which may not be often if we are in areas where internet is expensive or unavailable).