The Journey Begins!

So today’s the big day. I’m currently in the car on the way to the Dallas Fort Worth airport, but by the time you read this, I’ll probably be in the air on the way to London. I’m spending the day in London tomorrow before flying the rest of the way to Uganda.

I must admit, the nerves are getting to me a bit, but I’m more excited nervous, I can’t wait to get this adventure started!

Before I go, I wanted to take the time to thank some people who have made this trip possible:

1. First of all, I’d like to thank you. If you’re reading this, unless you’re some internet stalker, you probably know me and have supported me in some way. Some of you gave financially, some of you gave of your time, some of you gave in other ways, some of you are praying, some of you listened to me talk about my trip, some of you helped me see that I wasn’t crazy for wanting to go, all of you loved and supported me and without you, I wouldn’t be on my way, so thank you for whatever you contributed.

2. Thanks to Nic, Brett, and Brian for filling out my reference forms, I don’t know what you said in them, but at least some of it must have been good, because they’re letting me come for a bit.

3. Thanks to Brett, Nic, Charlotte, and Mrs. Evans for helping to organize the finances of this adventure.

4. While I’m at it, thanks to those of you who gave financially, whether you gave $10 or $1300. I was about $2150 over my goal. That is incredible. All of that money is going to benefit the Empower-A-Child organization, and your gifts made that possible. Seriously, I can not express enough how overwhelmed I was by your generosity in a not so great economy. You guys are awesome!

5. Special thank to the Guthrie, Arana, and Spruill families. I didn’t really have that much to sell in my garage sale, but your donations filled up my entire yard and helped me raise over 450 dollars!

6. Thanks to those of you who have committed to pray for me. This trip could not and will not be successful without prayer. Your prayers are sure going to help when things get hard and I get homesick. Thank you in advance for caring enough about me to pray for me. It really means a lot.

7. Thanks to Nic, Jo, Brett, Amanda, Brian, Chastity, and David. I told you about this trip when it was still just an idea and rather than treating me like I was crazy, you listened to me, talked me through it, and prayed for me about it. You’re support means more to me than you will ever know.

8. Thanks to my roommates and friends in San Marcos. You prayed for me when I didn’t think the finances were going to come through, you helped me prepare my letters, you never questioned my decision, and you got just as excited as I did when checks came in. You guys are such a blessing to my life.

9. Thanks to Shelby for helping me out on Thursday while I was preparing. When I woke up Thursday morning I was feeling extremely stressed out about all I had to do. After praying about it, Shelby called literally 5 minutes later and volunteered to help me run errands all afternoon. It was truly an answer to my prayers and a comfort knowing that God is looking out for all aspects of this trip. Shelby, I know you were bummed about not being able to give more, but seriously, you’re willingness to give of your time meant so much to me. Thank you so much!

10. Thanks to mom and dad for being so supportive. I know it’s a pretty scary thing to send your kid to Africa. You probably could have raised a much bigger fuss than you did. You probably could have chained me to a chair and refused to let me go like George suggested. Or done something a little more sneaky like “losing” my birth certificate so I couldn’t get my passport. Either way, you didn’t. You raised a much smaller fuss than I expected. You probably paid for more small items (and big) from last minute trips to the store than either of us realize (just wait until the credit card bill comes in :)). Thanks for all the money, for helping me pack, for helping with paperwork, for driving me 3 hours and back to the airport, and for supporting my trip even though you’re not too terribly found of the idea. The way I see it, it’s kind of your fault I’m going. If you guys had done a crappier job of raising me, I probably wouldn’t care so much about other people. So way to go.

I’m just kidding, but seriously, you guys are the best parents ever. I love you!

11. Last but not least, a special thanks goes to Ally. Even though you piss me off sometimes, you’ve done more for this trip then anyone else. Trips back and forth to the church to drop off checks, bringing garage sale donations to San Marcos, staying up really late and getting up really early to put together the garage sale, dealing with crazy garage sale junkies, helping me pack, going to REI to help me find some “special” items, and running last minute errands. You’ve done it all and you’re the best sister a girl could ask for. Love you!

Also, thanks for writing that letter and making me look like a crying dork in the airport. You're not half as a bad sister as you think you are.

Actually, you're not bad at all...you're wonderful!

I guess what I’m trying to say is, if you’re reading this, you’ve probably done something for my trip, and even if it seems small to you, it’s a big deal to me. I wish I could do a better job of expressing my gratitude, but really, without you guys, this trip would not be happening. So thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! I love each and every one of you.

Leaving on a Jet Plane,
Jenna

P.S. Check out my other site HERE (click the here, dad) for a new video.

P.P.S. Jonathon please do not judge my skills. Its my first video and I did it really fast at the airport.