Is this real life...?

What a whirlwind the last month has been. I packed up my entire house, loaded it into a Uhaul (towing my car), drove 18 hours east to Colorado, unpacked my Uhaul, and boarded one of three planes to Africa. Crazy. I don't advise it for anyone! The good news is I have survived it all and I now sit in a guest room in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso as I type this blog! Hooray! I've been here for 3 days now and I keep wondering to myself "Is this real life? Am I ACTUALLY here?" I mean, I've been preparing for this trip for the last 3 months. Working HARD to raise support, getting visas, medicine, supplies... There's been a ton of prep that has taken place and now I'm here! For the next two months I will be living on an orphanage compound in Yako, a small village in Burkina Faso. I will be holding, feeding, changing and loving sweet babies. I will be helping with medical and malnutrition clinics. I will be helping distribute TOMS shoes to the village children. I will be meeting and building relationships with the orphanage workers and children. I am full of excitement, nerves and joy.
Since I've been here, I have had the pleasure of meeting the entire Envision team that is in Burkina. What wonderful people!! They took me to a Burkina soccer game which qualified Burkina for the 2014 World Cup. Let's just say the people were overjoyed. I've never quite seen a celebration like it before in my life. Hundreds of African people flooding the streets, full of pride in their home soccer team. It was incredible. I've been out to eat at a lovely little cafe, I've been to the market, and I've been to church. I'm still getting over a bit of jet lag and recovering from the brutal flights. One day they will invent some sort of teleportation that will completely eliminate the need for planes. On that day I will celebrate!
I leave for Yako on Wednesday. I have no idea what to expect but I'm ready for just about anything. I hope to post often on this blog to keep people updated!
I find myself SO grateful for all of the people who supported this trip. Thank you for your ongoing support and prayer. Thank you for your generosity!

With love,
Emily