Lonely at home

It's weird. One of the things I've been struggling with lately is a feeling of loneliness... and I haven't left yet. Between not working and not being as involved as usual at Grace, I feel more cut off from my friends than normal. I know people have their lives and responsibilities, and I have things I have to be doing to prepare for Uganda and Orientation, but I still feel lonely. (Reminds of the first year after I graduated from Winthrop...) In a weird way, it feels like people here have written me off, like I'm already gone... but I'm not. And I don't mean to be griping or complaining. It's just what I've been struggling with recently. Ok. I won't whine any more. At least not today, anyway...

Thanks, Kim!

Good friends are such a blessing! A couple of weeks ago, my sweet friend, Kim DeLoach offered to do a photo shoot for my prayer cards. We met in downtown Greenville one evening, and she just sent the pictures to me- they turned out great! You can see the slideshow by going to her blog and clicking on "Alissa." She's a great local photographer here, and the shoot was the most fun, relaxed shoot I've ever been on! (Which is saying something, since we were shooting in the middle of Hurricane Hanna's winds!) Check her out... and thanks again, Kim! You rock!

Kim's website- http://www.kimdeloachphoto.com/
Kim's blog- http://www.kimdeloachphoto.blogspot.com/

God's laughing at me!

Every now and then, I can be sure I hear the sound of holy laughter... and I'm pretty sure I'm the butt of the joke! I am SO not the wilderness chick... but the highlight of my day yesterday was pulling my toiletry bag and SteriPen water purifier out of the box. I can't believe I'm getting excited about trail shoes and CamelBaks and mountain bikes! What's even more unnerving is knowing that I haven't even left for Uganda yet... who knows how far out of my comfort zone God's going to get me over there!

On a side note... I have decided that if I ever live in the States and am in a situation where I don't need a job with health insurance or a guaranteed minimum salary (i.e., if I'm married to a husband with a great job!) I will DEFINITELY work as a substitute teacher. Gotta love a job where you show up at 8, go home at 3:30, and have nothing to do to get ready for the next day. A girl can dream, can't she?