In Flight!

As I write this, Laurie is on an Ethiopian Airlines flight somewhere over the Atlantic. The plane will stop to refuel in Rome, and then it's on to Adis Ababa, Ethiopia. There they change planes for the flight down to Lusaka, Zambia, where they will arrive around noon local time Wednesday, July 11.

Laurie was able to call us from Dulles just before boarding. They flew from Florida to DC yesterday and then stayed in a hotel overnight. The fancy hotel was a real shock after two and a half weeks of boot camp, and when the girls entered the opulent room with feather comforters and fine furniture, they burst out laughing. The good night's sleep and hot showers were much appreciated before this longer leg of travel to Ethiopia and on to Zambia.

Thankfully, Laurie's blisters have healed into callouses and are no longer sore, but her boots fit poorly and she is somewhat concerned about her feet. The team may do a lot of walking in Zambia if they can't take a bus from village to village. Many of the kids on the team (including Laurie) have colds and are quite congested, so pray for comfort in flight and as they adjust to jet lag and the new environment and stresses of Ndola.

The team will be in country until August 3. Zambia is south of the equator, so it's winter there, which means nighttime lows in the 40s and daytime highs in the mid 70s. The teams sleep in tents, and those nights will feel cold!

Thank you for praying.

—Lisa
(Laurie's mom)