Day 1 of our Ethiopian Journey

We are off. I can't believe it. As I write this I am sitting on our plane to Newark. Kynzi just moved up to sit with Karston so they can watch Gulliver's Travels together. My beautiful bride is sitting next to me.



We jammed a lot of friend time into the last few days. That was so fun. I thank God every day for the family He has put into our lives. All of our family lives so far away and He has blessed us with amazing people close to us.

I got 2 hours of sleep last night and have logged one on this flight so far. Unfortunately the lack of sleep is not helping my state of mind. I am trying hard to be patient with children who are also tired. It's going to be a long trip. Haha.

We had 9 bags we put under and everyone has at least one carry on. The next flight from Newark to Germany is the one I am praying about. I am flying straight to Frankfurt but Jeanne-Ann and the kids are flying to Stuttgart and then meeting me in Frankfurt. I am praying they can join me on my flight. Their flight from Stuttgart to Frankfurt is totally full and none of them are sitting next to each other. Not good. If they don't get on my flight I am praying for kind people to move and give them seats together.

The kids gave our flight attendants a box if chocolates and that had opened up conversations with them about our trip. I love that. I love being able to share God's story He has painted for us. You know me...i love to talk. The guy sitting next to us asked about our travels and was very excited to hear about our story. He is headed to Edinburogh to see his daughter graduate from college. His brother is with him and they will stay 2 weeks and play lots of golf. That's pretty awesome. His wife is joining them in 2 days. Very nice guy. I love getting to talk with people and hearing their story and getting to share our story.

It is strange to think that after 1 1/2 years we are actually making this trip together. I am so thankful to God that we all get to go together. That is huge! This will be something like we will likely never get to do again. What an adventure. No cell phones. No Netflix. No dvr. I think I will have to forfeit all my words with friends games. ;-) I'm pretty connected and this will be a good thing for me (I keep trying to convince myself).

We have several card games and various other games. I will be teaching my kids card games I grew up playing when I was in Norway. We brought a football so Karston can train for the fall and a soccer ball so we can play with kids in our neighborhood. Our neighborhood...I like the sound of that. I plan to train for hood to coast which is at the end of august. I have been praying I make an Ethiopian friend who is a runner that I can train with. How cool would that be?! I don't know what they will think seeing a white guy running around everyday (I said everyday...that's funny...a guy can dream).

Well, I think I will take another nap.

By the way, thanx to Daniel and Aelix we got allthe malaria pills we needed. And thanx to Steve for getting to our house at 4:15AM to drive us to the airport!