"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

Loved the quote on the African Impact, St. Lucia FB page today https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/African-Impact-St-Lucia/ So many awesome things happening on all the projects https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/African-Impact-Livingstone-Community-Projects/209003329114029. I'm finding it really helps calm my fears of volunteering with an unknown group, when they post so much info and so many pictures of what's happening. I truly believe this is going to be such an amazing experience! https://www.facebook.com/pages/African-Impact-Lion-Rehabilitation-Livingstone/276063189122108?sk=wall  Still haven't been able to reconcile my aversion of cutting up animals to feed the lions, nor of watching them kill and feed. This will be a huge undertaking for me. Scooping up poop is more my style, so maybe I can make a deal with other volunteers to do a trade off.... that or they're going to have to tape my mouth when the lions chase buffalo, antelope or other meals to stop me from yelling at the prey to 'Run, bambi, run!" This is actually the only project I am slightly apprehensive about, even though it is the one I feel most excited about. So, today I bought long rubber gloves, for the pooper scooping business and heavy duty garden gloves for other duties, such as the gardening projects in the afternoons there and at the Livingstone and St. Lucia projects; I'm sure they'll have me out there digging in the dirt, just like I do here. I was wondering the other night if the St. Lucia project knows anything about using kelp and seaweed as fertilizer. They posted a picture of the veggie gardens and it doesn't look like they use much in the way of mulching and natural fertizler, so have made favourites of a couple of links to show them while I'm there. The project is right next to the beach, so should be a breeze for them to give it a try. My sister swears by it; collects bags of seaweed every time she comes out to the coast from the interior...hmmm...her van must get pretty ripe with the smell by the time she gets home.

Have been having another couple of fairly busy weeks. Still afraid to really start packing yet, as I'm still wearing some of the clothes I need to take with me (underwear in particular...was that more information than you needed?) but the pile is growing with the things I'd like to take in my carry-on. Still very nervous about missing bags or having them rifled through in the airports, so trying to figure what is most important and how I can fit it all in the small bag. Pretty thankful for those 'SpaceBags'.

 I mean does anyone really believe I can fit most of this into my carry-on and hand bag that I'm allowed to carry with me?! Well we'll see, I can be pretty ingenious, but maybe not quite this good.

Trying to get all appointments and such finished up. Was at the dentist for another fitting of the new front teeth last week and had them check that molar that was still bothering me. Seems they realized they hadn't quite got it right, so was back again at 9 am this morning. Feeling a bit better now, but the dentist says that the molar may have to be removed soon anyway. Hopefully it will hold till my return. Had them file a bit on the denture, but it didn't seem to help, in fact made it worse, so came home and took my trusty nail file to it. I am Woman! It's fixed and feeling good now. Thank you Daddy, for teaching me to never be afraid to tackle anything. Had to take my son Justin in there yesterday for an extraction and he needs to go back on Friday. They say they're going to set up a cot there for me, until I leave. Nice to be loved.

I also had my appointment with my hygentist, so even if the left over teeth will never be pearly white, they are clean and I feel better for it. Before the appointment I met my friend Heather for a bon-voyage coffee (she lives close by) then took my glasses to a place next door to have a nose pad replaced that kept falling off, since I got them back. Wouldn't you know the fellow managed to break the whole nose piece off, so I spent Thursday and Friday running around trying to find somewhere to get them fixed. Today I picked them up from One Hour Vision in Tillicum Mall, where the amazing fellow found and old unsold frame in the back (different colour but basically the same) and replaced everthing! I now have a new pair of glasses (well...almost new). and all for less than it would have cost to order in a new nose piece  (and who knows if it would have arrived before I am to leave). So I was very happy, tooth fixed, glasses fixed, plate fixed. Something had to go right between these darn glasses and my teeth at sometime! Thursday I go to my travel doctor for my Yellow Fever shot, Ducoral and Malaria prescriptions, and anything else he deems appropriate. My wonderful cousin Wanita dropped off a bunch of toques and girls caps she had knitted/crotched for me to take and my friend Heather gave me a bunch of children's clothes, when we met for that coffee. Another great pair of friends in Vancouver, Bill & Lia found one of their older phones , had it all checked out and I will be able to use it while 'in country', so another load off my shoulders, I'm just not sure if I can put all the phone numbers I will need over there, into the phone, without a SIM card in it. I did email both projects and check to make sure I can buy SIM cards while there. I was checking out buying them here, but if I did so, I would end up with a British phone number, which would mean that anyone phoning me, while we were in the same country, would be paying long distance to Britian to get a hold of me. That seemed a little crazy, best to purchase there I think. I'm also meeting my friend Karen on Saturday to pick up a few things she would like me to give to her Zambian WV sposnor child when I visit him for her. Last big excitment for this week, on Friday, I finally get a haircut.
I'm going to be ready to rumble.

Still no word from Umvoti or KMP ADP's with an itinerary about the visits there, just the dates of May 3rd to visit Nikki and the 4th for Fundiswa. Not that I really mind, having visited before I have an idea of where and what we will probably be doing and am excited to note that I will be with friends I met at the ADP's on the last visit to South Africa. That will be almost as much fun as visiting the kids. Well, with all the plans seemingly in place there is not to much more to report, just the anticipation to get going.

How do you make time fly?