let me just start this off by saying... i am so blessed. this morning i got to hear the cry of a brand new life coming into this world. a friend of mine who has been living on the compound gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. and despite how little sleep i got, hearing that cry just filled my soul and all i could think of was how blessed i was to be able to hear and be a part of that. later on today i got to help unload a shipping container for the mobile medical clinic and wash some dishes. these things may not sound like blessings but when i sit now and think about it, they are. i am blessed to be a part of this ministry and to help the french's out in whatever way i can. i feel blessed just to have the david and lorie as my coordinators. then this evening i went to the airport to pick up a couple who will be staying with us for a month and on the way back we took a very bad detour. we went through a compound that just made my heart break into a million pieces. it just hit me like a ton of bricks that i was no longer in the states. i was surrounded by people who had very little and lived on practically nothing. and while we drove through there and i held back the tears i just had think that i am blessed. i'm blessed for the parents that raised me. blessed for the big and even small things that they provided me with. i am just blessed. so if you're reading this, stop for a minute and think about the blessings that God has given you. i think you will be blown away!

sam.

we are now in zambia!!! so we left on may 15th for our 2 day journey. saying my goodbyes was weird, i couldn't grasp the concept of not seeing a lot of people for two years or maybe ever again. i surprised myself with how little i cried. but anyway, i left my friends and family at the security line and flew from jacksonville to chicago, where i met one of my teammates, susan. that night we flew to heathrow, london. just before we got on the plane it hit me, this was it, after i get on this plane, there is no turning back. i think i called like every friend in my phone to tell them goodbye one last time. when we landed we met the rest of the team there, it was such a nice reunion in the airport! after about a 7 hour layover we flew together to zambia. i think there were just so many emotions going through us all as we boarded that plane, so much excitement and nervousness! after the 9 hour flight we were finally here!! i think once we landed it may have taken us an hour to get through customs and get all of our bags. it was just so evident that God was watching over and taking care of us and i know it was because we had so many people praying for us! so we've been here for two, almost three days now and it has definitely been an adjustment for me. i know that just within these last couple of days i have been challenged. so please keep us in your prayers as we are hit with culture shock and missing home! your support and prayers mean so much, thanks!

sam.

so most of us got some pretty exciting news yesterday..... WE GOT OUR VISAS!!! we will be leaving for zambia this saturday, that's like 4 days away! i can't believe that we are really about to leave! i'm so excited for this new adventure that God is going to take us on! i'm excited to see how He is going to use us and change us! don't get me wrong, i do have some fears, but i know that God will provide and that as long as we are working for His glory, everything will be okay! so praise God for our visas! next i'll talk to you i'll be in zambia!!!

sam.