I am very happy to post this message because below you will see my fundraising progress!



Halfway there! Thank you, thank you, thank you, my kind and generous supporters.
It feels good to raise money for an organization I believe in and when I know exactly where all the money goes.
To break it down for everyone -> there is a one time $950 program fee that goes to the organization here in Seattle. Then there is a weekly hospitality fee of $137.50 that goes to the village programs with whom I will be staying. So if you multiply $137.50 by 12 (weeks) you get $1650 plus the $950 program fee.

There you have it folks!

The time is quickly approaching when I will leave for Greece with Kris (my sweetie), and then I will be in Europe for 2 1/2 months - then on to Kenya. But I'm packing for both because I will be sending a bag or two over to Paris with my mom and Ed where we will meet my sister and her boyfriend for the holidays! Miriam is in Jordan right now and you can click on the "friends" link on my blog to view her entries. It is currently a rough point in her trip, but I think she's having a very profound experience over there. Boy is she brave - most people are shocked and look at me as if to say "She must be insane!!" when I tell them where she is. But then most people think of the Middle East as one big terrorist hideout, filled with extremists and violence. From my understanding, Jordan is a fairly stable state and has been so for a long time. The world is violent, and people are doing crazy things everywhere - whether it's violence towards humans, animals, or the Earth itself, it's happening.

I know that travelling will force me to yank my head out of the sand and face reality in a whole new way. I don't expect it to be easy, but as I have said before, I invite it, I invite change in myself and hope I am able to in some small way change the lives of those I meet as well.

Again, asante! (thank you!)