Let the tour begin.

The Legacy Tour is officially underway. [YES!] We had a beautiful launch dinner last Monday night with great food, a preview of our advocates' update videos, and an incredible Acholi dance from all of our Ugandan friends to top it off. The night was magical, a way to reflect on the weeks previous and look forward to what is to come.

Tuesday was a crazybusy day in the office marked by organizing all of our merchandise and packing everything into our two vans. Luckily we fit it all in quite nicely, with room to spare for our personal luggage. :]

Wednesday morning all ten teams and Invisible Children staff persons met at Mount Soledad in San Diego as a final send off. I've been told this is the highest point in the city, and it has such an amazing view overlooking the water and the residential areas below. We heard from two American and two Ugandan roadies, each with their own special words to share about embarking on this journey. Jason, one of the co-founders of IC, spoke last. He shared the famous words of Nelson Mandela with us all before we departed:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

After some tearful good-byes, each team packed in their respective vehicles and began the long trek ahead. My team, Great Lakes, had the opportunity to caravan with three other teams along the way - Mountain West, Middle America, and New England. We had SUCH a great time driving across the country together, sightseeing and swapping vans. I wish we could all do a HUGE national tour, going from city to city with 20+ people in tow. It would be ridiculous. And amazing.

Our route looked something like this: San Diego on Wednesday morning to Flagstaff, Arizona Wednesday night. Flagstaff to Amarillo, Texas Thursday night. Amarillo to St. Louis Friday night. And St. Louis to Rockford, Ohio Saturday night. As my dad pointed out, 4 time zones in 4 days. BAH! It was a whole lotta driving, but we made it and definitely enjoyed ourselves in the process.

We took Sunday to rest, and had our first official screening at Parkway High School this morning. It went pretty well, and makes me excited for all the other places we get to go and the faces we get to meet. I can already see how busy tour is going to be, but as I have been reminded so many times: This is what I signed up for. I think I am up for the challenge, and I know I am ready to grow. Here goes nothing...!

Valentine's Day. Best yet.

LOVE. My day was filled with it. As it should be, since this is a national holiday devoted to that very idea.

I walked to church this morning with my darling friend Shannon, who hails from New Zealand. The sun was shining bright as we headed over to Crosspointe, and it was quite warm at that time already. I'd say it was around 80 degrees, which is so much nicer than the 18 degree weather back in Iowa. :]

The service was really great. Neither of us had tried out this church before, but I'm SO glad that we did. It was such an incredibly honest time of worship, and exactly what I needed to begin this crazy week I have ahead of me. [Legacy Tour launches on Wednesday...! BAH.]

Shannon and I grabbed some lunch together, too, at this local coffee shop in a fun district of La Mesa. A lot of roadies had the exact same idea, apparently, as we bumped into a bunch of teammates while were there. YAY!

After that, our Ugandan friends joined a huge group of us at a soccer field near our house. A game broke out pretty quickly, as did a whole lotta dancing. [!!!!!!] Someone had driven a few of the IC vans over to the field, so we opened up the doors and cranked up the jams. We all danced together to the likes of Jay.Z and Lady Gaga, and a few Acholi artists, also.

It was maybe the most fun I've had since I got here, and I don't say that lightly. It felt SO good to let loose and laugh and have a good time with our new friends. The Ugandans have been in San Diego for just over a week now, and it's amazing to see how they've opened up in that short time. Friendships are forming, teams are growing closer, and stories are being shared. I am so blessed by their insight and perspective on life, and grateful to learn from their experiences [which are far removed from my own]. This tour is going to be phenomenal. Obviously. HA!

I don't think anybody wanted to break up the party, but everything died down after a while, and a van of Western roadies took off chasing the sun. We wanted to make it to the beach in time to see the sunset. Sigh. So a dozen of us headed out to Sunset Cliffs, which is exactly what it sounds like. An incredible lookout spot on some sharp cliffs over the ocean. Wonderful.

We made it in time to watch the sun go down, and took a thousand pictures in the process. I am going to miss so many of them when we travel to our separate regions in a few days, so it was beyond special to share in that moment with all of them. Not to mention we ruined many a romantic couple's evening on the cliffs by being loud and generally obnoxious. Oops.

I am in LOVE with reality. And it keeps getting better. Happy Valentine's Day!

On things that are good. As in, Ugandan friends.

It's been two weeks since I last had an entry. Not sure how time has slipped by like that, but I suppose that's not a bad thing. I definitely know it's not for lack of life to write about, but I suppose nothing is QUITE as exciting as winning one million dollars. :]

No, a lot has happened here. I've gotten to do some of my favorite things, in fact. Think:

Trader Joe's. Jamba Juice. Target. Trolley downtown. Urban Outfitters. Chick sweet tea. In-N-Out. Ocean Beach. Sunset. Worship on the back porch. Journey Church. Community. Forrest Gump. Target. Tattoo. Space Jam. Laughter. First screening. P.O.D. party. Spontaneous dancing. Hook. Hugs. Kickball. Thai food. Thrifting. Honest prayer. Birthday celebrations. House donations. Sleeping in. Jamming in the van. Being challenged. Being comforted. Coffee shops. New friendships. Long walks.

[I realize many of these items revolve around eating. They don't call it the Roadie 15 for nothing. BAH.]

But the best thing of all happened last night. All 50+ of us roadies and interns and some staff persons from Invisible Children went to the airport to greet our friends from Uganda. After more than 26 hours of travel time, they touched down in San Diego on Saturday evening. Our crew was there to welcome them with large signs and loud cheers. As soon as we spotted their group of 16, everything erupted.

There were shouts and waves and smiles, and even a few tears on my part. I couldn't help myself. I was so overwhelmed with joy, and with LOVE. For the majority of the Ugandans, this was their first time to America. They came all this way to share their story, to have their voices be heard, to advocate on their own behalf.

I watched the Rough Cut documentary more than four years ago, when I was a freshman in college. At that time I was struck by the atrocities saw, appalled at the injustice we were allowing to happen, and questioning what I was going to do about it. And now here I was, hugging Boni, the boy I had first seen on a screen in a chapel in Orange City, Iowa. I couldn't even believe what was happening. It was so surreal, and I was struck with how incredible our God is. Who knew my life would take this route? I am in complete awe.

Boni and Leo were so thrilled to see us. They spotted our welcome sign right away, and said that all of their traveling fatigue was forgotten when they saw they crowd of people waiting to greet them. It's going to be SUCH an incredible ten weeks on the road with them, I almost can't stand my excitement...! I am blessed beyond words for this opportunity, and I am definitely going to make the most of every moment.

But the best part of last night came when my teammate Cathleen asked Boni what he was excited about in coming to the United States. His response: "I was most excited to meet all of you. I have been looking at your pictures and dreaming about the day I would get to meet you." My heart melted. This is the who I get to spend the next three months of my life with. Thanks, Jesus.