time has flown by. seriously. i feel like i was at graduation and i blinked and now i leave for india in less than 72 hours. it's so unreal.

i finally started packing today, and by starting to pack, i mean i finally went to wal-mart and bought the things i needed to take with me and threw it in my bag. i'm sure i'll have to unpack and repack. oh the joys.

in the midst of everything though, the lessons for teaching have been coming together. five of them are done, two of them have been started, and the last one...well, i think we might just do an outline and call it quits. it's going to be review so that can't be too hard, right? well, at least that's what i'm going to keep telling myself.

the unfortunate news, for me, though, is, i went to visit my cousin out at the campground today to play with him a little before i leave the country for seven weeks, or as they described it to him, "go on a really long vacation". (not sure that what i'll be doing can be classified as a vacation, but if you are a two and a half year old, i think it would make more sense that way). anyway, my uncle came riding up on a horse and asked if i wanted to ride. of course i said yes, and jumped up in the horse's saddle. (literally, i had to jump, b/c the horse was so tall and my legs are so short...it just wasn't a good combination) anyway, my uncle claimed that we would go for a "short ride" and i said ok, and we were off. next thing i know, it's almost an hour later when we arrive back at the camp site. i didn't think much of it because i enjoyed riding through the woods and whatnot, but let me just tell you. bouncing in a saddle for an hour and now thinking about sitting in a plane for fourteen hours...oh dear. i might have to buy a pillow for that...

but in all seriousness. i am so excited to see what the Lord has in store on this trip. there has been some pretty intense opposition already, and while that's frustrating and discouraging in the moments, it's encouraging to know that it's the Evil One at work because he doesn't want this trip to happen. so i will continue to put on the full armor of God and stand firm in his truths and promises as i step out in faith in the middle of the battlefield.

speaking of God's truths, last sunday at church, two young girls sang a song that we used to sing at my church camp as i was growing up..."Thy Word" you know, the song that goes, "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."

i loved that song when i was little, partly because i had the chorus memorized and knew what i was singing for once, but as i listened to the lyrics of this song, i was amazed at how full of truth a simple song can be. i would have to say, though, that the first verse is the verse that stuck out to me the most...let me just put it in here for you. "When I feel afraid, think I've lost my way, still you're there right beside me. Nothing wil I fear as long as you are near, please be near me to the end..."

May the first sentence be the verse that I remind myself of each morning as I wake up. and may the second sentence be the sentence that becomes my prayer each day...