Well, we are leaving tomorrow. Got things "relatively" in order. Excited and anxious about seeing our African friends from a year ago and those that we will be meeting. Yesterday, I was driving down the street remembering what a shock it was to come home last year. I began taking inventory of all the things before me now that will be gone in a couple of days...family, air conditioner, affluence, paved roads, city lights, landscaped yards, and the illusion of control. The worlds are vastly different even though the hearts of the people aren't. Change can and will come from within Africa, but with help from those outside. What becomes more clear is that even before they need money, they need others to stand with them to see and listen and encourage and teach...or as Celestin says for us to "be the gospel". Beginning next week, we will be training them on many subjects including 1) surviving and supporting each other through trauma, 2) understanding how AIDS is transmitted and how to care for those who have it, 3) the theology of Islam and how to distinguish it from Christianity and meet it with love and courage as it penetrates their communities with the promise of free food and health care to those who profess Muhammad as prophet, 4) considering their tribal identities (which are the source of so much conflict) secondary to their being a child of God, and 5) living a faithful life in deed and love and not just word. The men and women we will be speaking to will be some of the stronger and more recognized leaders of positive change in the area. Last year, I was struck by how tender so many of their hearts are and I am humbled to spend time with them knowing the torch that they carry and the difficulty they face. It will be great to encourage each other and learn from each other...again.