And the verdict is in...

I'm going to India and Nepal for outreach!!! The official sign-ups were completed today and details on the locations were finally revealed. I was so excited I could hardly focus on finishing my waffle at breakfast.

Here's a condensed version of the long-awaited-for scoop: 

We could choose to go to either Thailand or India and Nepal (you know which one I chose.) Three or four staff and six students will be on my outreach team.  We will fly to Mumbai and work in their red light district for 2 weeks, then travel to Kathmandu, Nepal, and the surrounding villages working for about 6 weeks before returning to Las Vegas for our debrief.  Kathmandu (pronounced kat-man-do) is very close to the base of the Himalayan Mountains, so the surrounding scenery is going to be absolutely beautiful. If we have internet, I guarantee pictures. We will work with families and villages affected by child trafficking: some Nepalese villages have no children under the age of 12.

Both India and Nepal will be rather cool, but Nepal will be frigid. You cannot fathom my excitement for the lack of heat: nothing sounds better than cold showers and cold nights. I don't consider myself to be high maintenance, but I'm re-evaluating that claim. We will be limited to one camping backpack, carrying sleeping bag, clothes, etc for 2 months. How am I going to do this??  Through Christ alone.

I am incredibly excited and I know that this is going to be quite the adventure. Despite being somewhat out of my comfort zone, I know we'll get used to the conditions and will most likely become so consumed with our work there that we will not even notice any discomfort. I'll tough it out.

Now that the teams are determined, we can begin to plan the practical details, such as figuring out how many needles I'll be stuck with and buying a trekking backpack. 

Because I am so excited, I googled for pics of both Mumbai and the Kathmandu Valley. Isn't this picture of Kathmandu lovely?