The road to adventure...

Pam here....
We will embark on our adventure June 9th. An adventure, for sure! How did this come to be?! Africa!?

I first heard of Africa, specifically Ethiopia, at a young age. We used to collect for Unicef. I was probably only 6 or7. Even at that young age, I thought, 'how did I get so lucky to be born in the U.S.?' I'd look at the sweet faces on our collection box and think--'that could be me, sleeping in the dirt with an empty stomach.' Pretty reflective for a young kid! Don't be too impressed, though, when I didn't want to eat my vegetables, I'd ask if we could mail them to Ethiopia!

More recently, I met a sweet woman, Melody Pahlow, about a year and a half ago. She also attends Community Christian Church (www.communitychristian.org) and our first conversations were by phone. We immediately 'clicked'. We are both involved in women's ministry at CCC and although we didn't talk often, we had become fast friends. It was through that friendship that I was included in her emails when she traveled to Rwanda last summer. (you can read her story at www.globalfamilyrescue.org) If you know anything about the Haines family summer of 2005, it was rather overwhelming. However, I would find time at the end of each hectic day to read Melody's emails, complete with photos of the precious Rwandan people...I was moved to tears each time. I felt so honored that I knew Melody and her husband Ben and I was proud of them and my church family for the difference that they were making in the world! I even printed a few of the emails and put them on the kitchen counter for the whole family to read! I had NO IDEA that I would be there the next summer...