we're on the road!

Hello from sunny Nevada.  I’m currently in the UNR lunch area strategizing how to get wifi so I can take my last final and be done with school… forever… well, until I decide I miss it too much and go get my PhD.   That will be a while though…  Hopefully the posting of this blog entry will coincide with the completion of this test and therefore, one of the last institutional stressors in my life.   WHOOP WHOOP!

Anyways, you’re not checking this to hear about academia… you want to know about where we are and how I’m getting to Guatemala.

So… about Guatemala: God is amazing!  I have more than half my fundraising already in the bank. That is way more than I ever imagined!  I am so grateful and feel so loved and now am concerned about what I do if there’s too much money… what a great problem to have!  All my paperwork is now turned in… that’s a relief… and now it’s just a waiting game to see where I’ll be placed.  If you can be praying for the country, that would be great.  It recently had a volcano blow and spout ash, then the tropical storm came and the ash got wet, turning cementish, so the roofs are caving in. Just pray that people stay safe and God helps everything get better fast.  Also, Doug is taking a group of 30 from the church (CPPC) to Guatemala in 2 weeks… pray for a safe adventure that God guides… they may be changing tasks. 

Now… on to the trip!  As I said in the greeting, I’m in Nevada.   The last few days… weeks?... have been a whirlwind.  Saying goodbye is hard, so I replaced the goodbyes with “see you laters” but those are also hard.  It’s comforting to know that I’ll be back in the valley, at least to visit, by Fair 2011… but that’s a long ways away, and there’s much that will happen in my life and the lives of those I love back there between now and then. The seniors graduate this weekend, 8th graders get promoted the next week, there’s summer, and a whole new year of school… not to mention all the new great achievements that the swimmers will have with their upcoming seasons. Wow. I feel like a sentimental mother, but Walla Walla really has taken a hold of my heart and become my home. 

That was a deviation… anyway, I’m still in Nevada.  Last night, we slept in California.  It wasn’t raining.  And that was a really good and refreshing aspect of the night. Rain isn’t fun.  It was gorgeous too!   Tuesday and Wednesday were mostly spent going through Oregon.  It was raining and not super duper exciting, until we went to Riley.  Riley is a great little town.  I went to the post office to purchase stamps and I was the first customer of the day… it was 12:30.  I asked the lady how many people their office served and she said about 100.  The kicker is that those 100 people live in 100 square miles!  Great population density statistics!  After purchasing my 100 postcard stamps and 100 letter stamps (I plan on writing a lot), she thanked us profusely for our business and we continued along our way to Christmas Valley and 

Yep.  Crack in the Ground.  A place with that descriptive of a name had to be worth visiting, and it was.

SO COOL!  Suzanne took better pictures… her camera is pretty and I was pretty busy scampering around.  Her picture site is www.theenlightenment.shutterfly.com   And the password is 48 states.  (Note: Don’t give that to creepers.)

Well, We’re going to meet up with my aunt tonight… I haven’t seen her since I was 16… so that will be fun.  Then, we’ll continue south.  We’re on a quest for the sun!   Hope all is well with you guys!   I am incredibly nostalgic about WA right now. 

Katharine