#3 June 11th- Thursday

-Getting ready

Lisa and I took a walk around the lake with the girls today. Irvine is such an unbelievably beautiful place. While we were walking around the lake, I keep thinking about how much I'd like to stay here all summer with my girls. The reality of being away is really starting to set in and I find myself asking, "is it going to be worth it." I think I found my answer. This summer I'm on a quest to read the Bible cover to cover. In the book of Genesis, God tells Abraham that he is blessed to be a blessing. My life is clearly blessed. When I think of the people I work with, the woman I love, and the kids we cherish, I know I'm blessed. I've been asking myself, "why would you want to interupt a perfectly good thing?" The answer comes when I think about the millions of children who have no parents and limited hope for the future. For me it comes down to a choice between hope and fear. The fear in me says, I might not come back, my girls will miss me, I won't make a difference. The hope in me says, this was what I was created to do, change is possible, there is the possibility for a future and a hope for everyone.

On a lighter side, we went to Lisa's cousin's 8th grade graduation. It was good to see family. I bought a hand buzzer (from a magic shop). I thought it might be a fun prank in Uganda. I'm not sure what to bring, beyond the essentials. I bought a lazer pointer. I'm bringing Catch Phrase, an illustrated history book, a bunch of National Geographic Maps, an inflatable globe, AP World History flash cards, and sharpie pens. I was thinking that we could make flashcards out of wood chips or some other material. I'm bringing a nice watch for my Ugandan teaching counterpart, Yeko George. What a cool name!!! I can't wait to meet him. That's all for now.