She's coming in 12:30 flight . . .

Tomorrow I am leaving. Today has been last minute errands and of course, packing. Packing hasn't been as hard as I anticipated. I guess just DOING it helps a lot.

I wanted to let everyone know my prayer requests. So here they are:

• On time flights
• Good weather
• Bag and me arriving in Benin at the same time
• Making all my connections
• Ease in settling in
• Nice roommates
• Ease in making friends
• Anything else that you all think of

I certainly covet your prayers. I don't know when I will get to blog again as I don't have any good idea what I will be encountering when I get there.

Thank you to all my friends and family who have made my last month before this adventure memorable and wonderful! And sorry to anyone I couldn't get the time to see. Maybe when I get back, we will have to hang out.

Off I go!

they grow restless longing for some solitary company

So as a boring but practical blog entry, I thought I should let you all know how to send me letters and whatnot. Keep in mind that you can't send me hazardous materials like hair dye or fingernail polish (not like you would anyways).
Here's my address:

Kaylee Earll
Mercy Ships
M/V Africa Mercy- Sales Staff (Or finance department, but I bet they both get to me)
PO Box 2020, Lindale, TX
75771-2020, USA

Things will take a couple of weeks to get to me.

Anyways, just in case you are wondering where I got my blog name or the entry names, go here: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/t/toto/africa_20139798.html
They are the lyrics to the Toto song "Africa."

I leave in less than two days. WEIRD!

Gonna take some time to do the things we never had . . .

I leave America in six days. It is so intimidating to look at my clothes and toiletries and everything and try to determine what I will need for the next six months.

Sunday morning I got to get up in front of my church and tell them about my trip. Then those who have known me for years got up and prayed for me. It was incredible and very touching! That night, I met friends from CSU and my college church Summitview for a birthday/ bon voyage party. I have been so humbled by the love and support that people have shown me. Thank you to you all, and in particular, Courtney for arranging it!

The party people:

Saturday was my last day at Starbucks. While I'm very excited about Africa, I was also sad to leave my job of over a year. I have been so blessed to work with some awesome people. While I will not miss rude customers, I will miss recounting the story of their rudeness to my fellow partners afterword. I will not miss drive-thru stalkers, but I will miss the regular customers who brighten our day every time they come in. I will not miss scrambling during crazy rushes, but I will miss the camaraderie that develops when we rock that rush out!

So now I get to pack, pack, pack! Also, I'm trying to find time to hang out with as many people that I can. It's hard to say no to people that I would otherwise really love to hang out with.

Monday morning I fly out. I will be in Benin by 7:05 pm local time on September 1.

It's going to take a lot to drag me away from you . . .

Hello, my friends and family! Welcome to my blog!

As I prepare to embark on my Africa adventure, I thought it might be nice to share how I came to this point. When I was in college, my church small group (or "discipleship team") got really into Africa. I don't quite remember how it all got started, but suddenly Africa was the goal. I was one of the few who did not really get into it. Beyond just a visit, I didn't feel called to go there . . . at the time.

Time passed. I graduated college and taught preschool for a year. While it was a fun job, it was not what I wanted to do as a long term job. The problem was, I had no idea what I would rather be doing. My lovely parents graciously agreed to let me live at home for a time while I worked on discovering God's path for my life. I moved back and started working at Starbucks. I went to therapy, did some career counseling, and prayed for guidance. Though no definitive answers arrived, I did discover that I care deeply about third world countries, and in particular, the people who live in them. I realized that I wanted to devote my life to helping people and affirming the image of God in the lives of those I encounter. Finally, I decided to apply to the occupational therapy graduate school program at Colorado State University.

I don't remember when I first heard of Mercy Ships. I think I read an article about it somewhere. I looked into it during college, but it was never something that I thought I could do. It was something cool that cool people who were braver than me did. In spite of that, Mercy Ships stayed in the back of my mind.

I decided that my ultimate goal with occupational therapy was to join Mercy Ships and use the techniques I learned to help enrich lives. I made that fact the crux of my admissions essay.

I got accepted into the graduate program . . . sort of. I was put on the waiting list. It was rather underwhelming. Time passed, and finally I found out that no one from the waiting list made it off. At a loss for what to do next, I decided to apply to Mercy Ships. I figured why wait? There would probably be some job I would be qualified to do. I've had quite a few jobs, after all. Besides, it is a great time in my life to do this! Less than a week after I sent in my application, I got my initial acceptance. Since then, it's been quite a whirlwind!

I have been amazingly blessed so much during this process. People have been so generous with supporting me financially and with prayer. I want to be able to keep all you wonderful supporters what God is doing in my life and on the Africa Mercy. And that's why I'm blogging.

So thank you, all you supporters! I am so blessed and grateful to God for each and every one of you. I will be in touch!