and so it begins. . . but for serious this time : ]

well .... tomorrow is the big day. i cannot believe how quickly it crept up on me! i have so enjoyed my time here in texas & it's very bittersweet leaving here. the IOC ( International Operations Center) has been home for the past 5 weeks for me. I've met so many wonderful people who work behind the scenes to help make Mercy Ships the tremendous organization that it is.

gateway field service team

we leave for the airport at the 5:45 am (wooohooo) & will arrive in sierra leone late thursday evening. the 1st two & a half weeks we will be living off the ship as we will be doing a field service about an hour away from where the ship is docked. we will mainly be working at a primary school, helping with repairs & also working with the kiddies : ] i will not have internet or any means of communication until the end of july when we officially get on the ship. I'm so excited to put to use all the valuable info i have accumulated over the past few weeks. sorry this is so short. i still have a little bit of packing to finish! here are some photos from my time here in east texas. class was intense at times.

presenting on the diverse cultures that we have here in the US & what we value

 so it was really nice to go on weekend excursions & get to see a little bit of east texas

we even got the chance to go to a rodeo. 

Finally saw an armadillo!!!! What's  a texas experience without seeing longhorns&armadillo's..right??!!

east texas sunsets are absolute stunners.