Summer travel plans

An excerpt from a letter I wrote some friends:

As you may know, when I was 16 I had the opportunity to participate in a missions trip to an orphanage in Port-a-Prix, Haiti (in the northern part of the country). It was a fabulous experience, and one I've come to treasure: the country was beautiful, and the people I met were precious.

This year I again will be traveling to this country I love, again to an orphanage, but this time, my friend Aisha and I will be designing and teaching the kids there how to plant and care for an organic garden. We will be bringing seeds, some tools, etc, and working hard the whole time. The lady who runs the orphanage is a vegetarian, and I'm excited to be able to cook for them and swap some recipes, too :)

This will be a short trip: I will be leaving on May 8 (the day before Mother's Day, but I have her blessing!) and returning the 15th. If this seems like short notice, it is. I was asked to participate only two weeks ago, so everything happened very fast. I'm grateful that my job and life are such that I can make decisions like this quickly!



This trip has, indeed, sneaked up on me. I feel almost ill-prepared to be making this journey: life has been such a whirlwind since my decision to go. But as usual, I'm in awe at the kindness of my friends: I've had many people contact me eager to contribute money, toys, and words of encouragement and love. I feel privileged to know so many generous, good people, and the conversations, emails, and loot I've received in preparation for this trip have been marvelous. After all my travels last year, I wasn't expecting so much enthusiasm. So thank you, my dear friends. And that is all I can say. At this time. But keep an eye out for updates.