And I'm off! :)

Hey all :)
Well here is my attempt at a blog ...we'll see how it goes! Don't know how much of a blogger I'll turn out to be! Tonight is my last night at home ~ I'll be setting out for New York tomorrow morning, a lovely mini road trip with my mom, little sis, and cousin, for orientation at the Africa Inland Mission headquarters. Hoorayy for finally meeting my team members!! I'm SO excited to meet them and get started! We'll be flying out Wednesday night to London...spend the day in London....then fly from there to Uganda over Thursday night, to arrive in Entebbe Friday morning!
For those who haven't quite gotten the DL on what I'll be doing, I'm going to be staying at Smile Africa Ministries in Tororo, Uganda with 3 other girls helping to take care of and love over 400 orphans and street children, build relationships with and encourage the workers there, and perhaps get to know some of the women in their program for ex-prostitutes and widows. I am so excited to finally be doing something that has been on my heart for a long time now and I PRAISE GOD for His faithfulness and provision! I owe it all to Him, may He receive ALL the glory. It speaks a couple times in Scripture of how Christ "saw and had compassion" (Matt. 9:36) and it speaks way more than a couple times on Christ's attitude towards the poor, the widowed, the orphaned, the lost. As followers of Christ, we are to care about what He cares about, value what HE values.
1 John 3:17-18 says, "But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth!"
"If anyone serves me he must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also." John 12:26
I decided to name this blog "because He first loved us".... with a little help from some fabulous friends :) ......and I think it is a perfect fit. It refers to 1 John 4:19, "We love because he first loved us." Without Christ, there is no love. This pretty much sums it up and causes me to reflect on how He showed the ultimate love on the cross and what kind of love that was....sacrificial, selfless...and completely humbling. This is what causes me to seek to serve Him, know Him more, and LOVE others in response.
So as tired and scatter brained as I feel right now, I hoped to give at least a little snippet of where I'm coming from as I embark on this journey! With hopefully more to come! THANK YOU to all for your prayers; I've felt totally overwhelmed by the encouragement and support.
I'm not sure how much access I'll have to the internet over there but I'll try!
And finally, may we all remember those over in Uganda right now in the midst of the bombings in Kampala; send up a prayer for the people who have lost loved ones and who may be feeling scared and confused tonight. Praise Him who is in control here and there, who holds the world in His hands.