Leaving So Soon!?!

My mission's trip is fast approaching, and I can hardly believe it's nearly here. In less than 24 hours, I will be boarding a plane for the longest voyage of my (young) life. The immensity of what I'm doing still hasn't hit home - and probably won't until after I return. So many 'firsts', that it's hard to count them all. The first time I've gone on a missions trip. The first time I've been oversees (or out of the country for that matter...) The first time I'll get to experience another culture firsthand. The first time I feel like I have the chance to give back to God all He's given to me, and the first time I've been well enough to do so. And I'm sure many more firsts shall follow...

The past few months have been all a whirl. Learning about Ukraine, what we should do, how to act, what we should bring, scrambling to learn the language (or at least some of it...), gathering supplies, and still having some down time to relax and read a good book (or anime - both work just fine). Oh! And I also got my first official jury summons today too... I found it humorous that it arrived just before my departure...

But yeah, everything is going smoothly and (almost) according to plan... other than the fact that me and my team accidentally ended up going to a meeting meant only for our team leaders (due to a mis-communication.) It actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise though, as we were able to get all the last minute details we needed to know before departure, and I was able to make the final payment for my remaining balance before leaving (Thanks Grandma!)

Here is the plan for tomorrow...

4:00p - Meet at OWM (Office of World Mission's)
5:15p - Leave APU for Airport
9:15p - LAX to London (about 10 hours)
3:30p - layover in London (Jun25)
9:45a - London to Kiev - (3 hours 15 min.) (Jun26)

In case that's confusing, remember there are time changes! (I know I didn't for a while, and couldn't figure out why my arrival and departure times didn't match the flight duration...)

For those of you who want to send any mail to me while I'm in the Ukraine, remember that it takes 10 days to 3 weeks to send mail that far, so please plan accordingly.

Chelsea Smith
106A prospect Illicha
Donetsk, Ukraine 80359

Other than that, e-mail is always a good way to go, since we WILL be staying in a dorm with Internet access. (crohnskitty@gmail.com or just regular ol' facebook)

You choose...