AFRICA: Leaving in the morning....so much to do....

So.....I leave at 6:30am to fly to Washington DC and then on to Ethiopia the next day.
I wanted the last few days to be relaxed. It was not. I am a dreadful packer. I hate it. The thought of packing for a trip that lasts over two weeks without the hope of a laundry is daunting to me. Not that I have a lot I am wanting to bring, it is just that I have never been there and I don't know where to start or know what is important and what isn't.
The girls were not particularly helpful lately. They were fighting a lot, over tired and crabby. However, that sounds a lot like me as well and I am sure they feed off of my stress and lack of attention I am giving them and that they deserve. Needless to say the last few days have not been relaxed. They have been stressful. Within the last few days I have had a bug bite turn infected, Logan struggling with bloody noses, a speeding ticket, going to bed between 12 and 2 and waking at 6, Kirk trying to get deadlines met before he is Mr. Mom for 2 weeks....amidst a few other dramas. BUT.... I have also had a tremendous outpouring of well wishes, I love yous, donations, offers to help with the kids, meals planned for me etc, etc, etc. It WELL out weighs the minor irritations.
LOVE LOVE LOVE to everyone that made this possible: KIRK of course for being excited for me to go (and is looking for an opportunity and a friend to go to Africa with in the future), awesome friends that the Lord has blessed me with, a great family near and far and many, many prayers. I know this is not for everyone and that not everyone supports this trip. I would be foolish to think so. I do know that God is good. He does not show favoritism and he created every person in his image. I know that he cares for orphans and knows the very hairs on their heads. I know that if they feel worthless and alone, it is a lie. God is with us, for us , behind us and beside us. He created me, you, them. If they have not heard of his unfailing love, I pray that our team of 23 women can be the broken vessel to tell them. All of us have felt unloved and abandoned. Thankfully, most of us have moms and dads, sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles to tell us they love us and care for us. A lot of these kids do not. They are never alone, never forsaken, never abandoned, never forgotten, never unloved. God is with them as he is with us. I pray that our team will show the love of Jesus to these precious ones as he has so faithfully shown to us.
John 15:16 "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last".
I pray that we will bear fruit that lasts by sharing Jesus unashamedly and boldly.