Time has slipped by. I forgot I had a blog. I'm about a week out from boarding the plane to training camp in GA. Most of the nervousness has faded away, I've started to care less and less about what I pack - just as long as it's as little as possible. Still, on the other hand, I'm having trouble redefining the 'essentials.' At the moment I want a stock pile of Speed Stick deodorant, and I am realizing my attachment to the kind of Head and Shoulders shampoo that burns your scalp a little bit. I am not sure what the burning is exactly, but I am convinced that it is necessary and magical. You can imagine the dilemma of trying to pack enough to last.

I'm ready for things to get underway, for the waiting and this 'in between' phase to be over, but there is plenty of work to be done in the meantime. Friends to meet up with, the last bits of support to raise, washing my hair over and over with the burning shampoo.

Some of my friends are in tough places, broken places, with the 'excrement hitting the air conditioning' so to speak. Maybe one of my greatest fears is leaving them behind in those places. Lonely, confused, or losing their minds. Where will they be in nine months? And can I put the same amount of faith in prayer, and in God meeting their needs as I put in my own proximity and trying to meet their needs myself? Seems like a lesson I could stand to learn.

The excitement is building. The loose ends are getting tied up. Pray for me. I'm about to have myself a good rattling. The Kingdom is here. Aslan is on the move. Where in the world is this going to go?