48 hours left in North America.

We have finally gotten our act together, and packed most of the things we need this trip. But there is always uncertainty about what we should bring and if we forgot anything! We have decided what school work to take (unfortunately!) and have dug out our shorts and T-Shirts that we were wearing just a month ago. I am excited but nervous for this trip, I can't seem to get it into my head that we will be leaving the country in just 2 days! We are still as busy as ever with all our activities and school and music, and it is a wonder that we even got what we have packed! I am excited to live on a ship for three weeks, but not so excited to be in such close quarters with my brothers!! I hope we don't forget anything when we leave on Thursday morning!!

Carly

Bags are packed

With a little help from family and friends, we've gathered some duffel bags and started to fill them with what we  hope are useful and helpful things to bring to Benin!

We are starting to get anxious to be on our way.  Enough preparation... we just want to be there now.

163 hours to go!

well, we are going to be heading out of the country yet again, in just under one week. It almost seems like a dream, but maybe thats just because we haven't really started packing yet. We are still running around like crazy every day, and I have no clue when on earth are we ever actually going to get ourselves together and start packing and preparing for the trip. We have checked out the video tour of the mercy ships, and we have read through our information packet, but it is still hard to know what to expect and imagine as to what the rest of us are going to be spending our time on...... Well I am hoping to try and get school done and lots of decisions made before we go. I am going to miss all our activities and friends while we are there, but I know that it will be a amazing trip!

Carly

Benin Facts

A few tidbits about Benin:

The people in Benin are called Beninese.
Cotonou (where the ship is docked) has a population of 2 million people.
French is the official language
Life expectancy is 55 years.
While we are there it will be one of the two rainy seasons they get a year.
Temperatures have been in the high 20 degrees  and low 30's.
It is about the same size as the state of Pennsylvania.
It was formerly called the Republic of Dahomey and was named Benin in 1975.
Cotonou means "mouth of the river of death" in Fon the most spoken language in the country.
It is one of the poorest nations in the world.
Their currency is the West African Frank - CFA (pronounced cefa)

One week to go!

I can't believe we are leaving a week from tomorrow.  I'm looking forward to seeing the OTHER side of Africa.  Let's hope Mom forgets to pack the school books.
Brett

Two weeks counting down

I was just reminded today to keep up with the blog so others could be in touch with our preparations to go to Benin.
It's amazing the number of people who when they find out we are going to Benin, have contacts there.  It is kind of a small world.   Although admittedly, most people do not know where Benin is.  They can't even guess what continent it is on!  Thankfully our God knows every single person there and desires to have a relationship with each one of them!!
We've been praying that we will stay healthy before we go.  There has been so much illness all around us.  We don't want to bring our cold and flu bugs over to Benin or on the ship for that matter.
We are excited about going and the opportunities that will present themselves there.  Every day we pray that we will be prepared for what God has in store for us.
Our lives have been so hectic, it feels like we haven't had much time to think about Benin.   Hope the next two weeks slow down abit for us......
Lori