This will be my last post before I leave for Uganda. Thanks to the wonderful support of friends and family, we have reached our fundraising goal of $13,000. Many thanks to all of you! If you haven't had a chance to donate and still want to contribute, please visit the Compassionate Ministries of Uganda website; http://compassionateministriesuganda.org/WordPress/. Any additional funds raised at this point will be used towards supporting our trainers as they bring what they learn out into their communities over the coming year, or supporting members of a neighboring district who were trained last year in building solar powered stoves to bring that technology to Masindi.

I am really excited about the work we will be doing over the next 4 weeks, but that doesn't keep me from being a nervous wreck. The past couple days have been emotionally challenging for me, as the reality of leaving the country; my family and friends - for virtually the rest of the year - has started to become reality. At the same time, I am excited for a new country, a new scope of work, new friendships (and some old), and getting to share it all with YOU - my loyal reader.

Here is my itinerary for the next month:

May 10 (tomorrow) - 3:15 flight. Boston-NYC-Brussels-Kigali (Rwanda) - Entebbe
May 11 - arrive Entebbe, Uganda 9:40pm
May 12-14 - Kampala, Uganda - purchasing supplies and getting additional pages for my passport
May 14 - Travel to Nyabyeya, Masindi District (by bus)
May 17 - 22 - Training of Trainers; Week 1
May 24 - 29 - Training of Trainers; Week 2
May 31 - June 5 - Training of Trainers; Week 3
June 8 - Travel back to Kampala, 10:50pm flight. Entebbe - Brussels - NYC - Boston
June 9 - Arrive Boston, 3:49pm
June 11 - World Cup begins; South Africa v. Mexico - 10am (EST)
and... Jimmy gets married; 4pm

So here we go again. It should be a fun ride, and I hope to take many pictures and update as often as possible. If you are reading, please leave me comments so I know you've been here.

Song of the day: Take a Minute - K'Naan