God is good and I'm being sent on another adventure because of that fact. I was chosen to be one of the four people invited to go to the Central African Republic (CAR) this April. 

Yes, that's in Africa. 

I'm visiting as a member of Western North Dakota synod of the ELCA. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Central African Republic (EELRCA) is a sister synod of ours — they've sent people to ELCA events in the U.S. and we're now reciprocating by visiting them. We have a lot to learn from each-other.

I'll be attending a Lutheran youth conference, learning about the CAR and the EELRCA, and traveling to other sites that the ELCA has been involved with over the years. One place I'm especially excited to see is the clinic that will be getting internet (for the first time) thanks to donations from Sunne Lutheran Church of Wilton.

The CAR is one of the poorest countries in the world. On the Human Development Index it ranks 179th out of 182 countries. It'll be pretty eye-openning to see what that means for the people whose home is the CAR.

There are 2 primary languages: French and Sango. I've looked, but found very-very little about Sango (except what's on Wikipedia). I'll keep looking for more — the language is structured in a pretty sweet way.

Thanks for your support as I prep for this adventure.

Way out of focus. Way early.

After arriving in Aguas Calientes and getting to the hotel we didn't waste much time before having a little supper and then going to bed. The next morning was super early. The alarm went off at 3:55 and was snoozed, then was again snoozed at 4:00 but at 4:05 am we got up to eat breakfast of yogurt, bread, granola, and granola bars. It was early, but the food was pretty filling. Plus you can't be that lethargic when you're about to see Machu Picchu.

By about 4:40 we met with Dom and Lauren in the lobby (pictured above) and from there we walked towards the foot of the mountain. After walking over a train track then a bridge things started to get Disney World-y.

Off to my left was a running river just below a mountain. Everything smelled and looked and sounded (in the dim light of 5:00 am) like Disney World. Animal Kingdom maybe. I then realized that the difference between Disney and where I was was that there the sounds and sights were real. Really real. For a second I thought about how great Disney is to have made places that seem so authentic, then I got back to reality where I was enjoying the base of Machu Picchu in real life. If Disney World is magical, well so was walking to the bottom gates of Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu, in case you didn't know.

Tomorrow I'll be taking a picture almost exactly like that one at Machu Picchu. I'm all packed and ready to leave Cusco at about 4:00pm today. After a bus then a train I'll arrive in Aguas Calientes (the city at the foot of Machu Picchu) by about 9:30pm. Then its time to meet with our guide and then catch some sleep. Morning will come real soon because we're climbing up to Machu Picchu—on the road in the picture below—at 5:00 in the morning on Saturday and then spending the day there with some Projects Abroad friends and a great guide (or so we've heard).

Road up to Machu Picchu.

Sleeping pad from the Clymb

With under a month until I'll be in Peru I've started to finish gathering everything I'll need when I'm there. There isn't a ton that I still need. Most of it is backpacking equipment. I'm hoping to do quite a bit of hiking around so there are just a few more things I need:

• Water filter
• Backpack
• Sleeping bag
• Sleeping pad
• Some way to keep my camera safe and dry on the trail
• Hiking shoes
• Hiking pants and socks
• ...and I'm probably forgetting a few other things

I just got my sleeping pad in the mail--and it's great. It rolls down to almost nothing when compressed but provides real great support when fully inflated. My sleeping bag is purchased (thanks again to the Clymb) and should be arriving soon. On my to-do list this weekend is taking my Northface pack back to Scheels because it didn't fit right. Then I'll need to buy a new one.