Whew!

Sometimes, I just have to sit back and breathe. This place is many things: amazing, a time warp, tiring, difficult, rewarding, full of crazy people, transformative, infuriating, the only place I'm meant to be right now. Sometimes, I feel all of that at the same time! I just want to update everyone on what has been going on for the past few days...

We have celebrated a couple of roadies' birthdays this week. Those celebrations included a few different cakes and some spectacular karaoke. My selections varied from Carrie Underwood to N Sync, Lynyrd Skynyrd to Lil' Kim. It was enjoyable to say the least.

We got a new teammate named Tessa. She is a native Californian and she is amazing. She already fits in perfectly with Andre, Heather, and me. She is hard-working and extremely compassionate. She prefers N Sync to the Backstreet Boys. And when she concentrates, her face looks like she is very sad. But she's just concentrating.

I guess I should explain the other roadies on my team to you as well. Andre is amazing. He cares about everyone and everything, but always makes you feel like you matter uniquely to him. There are very few people like that in the world. He runs on very little sleep and he always wears a vest, a beanie, and pointy boots.

Heather is my homegirl. She is only five feet tall, but she has more personality and fire than most people twice her size. Ok, so I don't think anyone is actually ten feet tall, but you get the picture. Besides being the hardest working person I have ever met, she is also one of those people who commits completely to anything she takes on. She is also one of the most loving friends I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. She makes me happy.

I have met some seriously mind-blowing people here. I have no doubt that I will be friends with many of them for the rest of my life. Also, I absolutely adore every single person I work for and with. Who can say that?!

Our house has become distinctly smellier, which I guess should be expected with 50 people. It has also become a second home in a matter of three and a half weeks. Weird, huh?

We finally got to see a pre-screening of a rough draft of the new media we will be showing on this tour and it was so good! I wanted to run out of the building and tell everyone I saw about this organization and how much they are really doing to help end the longest war in the history of Africa. The Mid-Atlantic roadies will be making a stop at Christ Church in April and I sincerely hope that all of you go to the screening, not only to see what I've been doing, but to experience life-change.

Speaking of...I am still experiencing that in different ways daily. I am learning to edit my thoughts and not say everything I think. It has become second nature for me to say "I'm tired" or "I'm hungry" when I am tired or hungry, but with this many people working so hard towards a unique goal, there is no reason to express it. We are all tired and hungry most of the time and there is no time for complaining. I am also experiencing 60-80 hour work weeks. We are never actually off the clock, but since we don't get paid, that doesn't matter. And, even though it is tiring, no one seems to be over it. We can all see our hard work turning into results and it is rewarding. Plus, when you are really doing things you love, it gets easier.

I do miss you all very much. If you think about it, please pray for my grandmother. She is really not doing well. Also, you should call or facebook my Mom and encourage her. This is super hard for her and for all of my family. I can't be there to love on them, so if you think about it, send al the love you can muster their way. Thank you in advance for that.

I'm going to leave you with some song lyrics that are helping me out immensely while I'm here. They are simple, but meaningful. I'm not even going to tell you who it is, because I don't enjoy being judged. :)

The struggles I’m facing,

The chances I’m taking

Sometimes they knock me down but

No I’m not breaking

The pain I’m knowing

But these are the moments

that I’m going to remember most

Just got to keep going

There’s always going to be another mountain

I’m always going to want to make it move

Always going to be an uphill battle,

Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose,

Ain’t about how fast I get there,

Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side

It’s the climb