Azalea Triathlon..

..over and done with! I'm behind on updating on the Chicago trip and the Triathlon, having gotten home late last Wed., and then heading to Wilmington Friday and driving back on Sunday. I caught a cold(which turned into a sinus infection) from the teens on the Chicago trip, so have been feeling pretty crummy. I wasn't feeling great the morning of the triathlon, but other than feeling nauseous during the run, it didn't effect me too much. Even after all of those months of preparing for it, it still was quite a learning experience for me. I was much slower in the transitions than I thought I would be. My bike time was my best segment(no surprises there), but still slower than I had thought it would be, and with feeling nauseous, I ran quite slow. So, overall, I was slightly disappointed in myself, but I also know that it was my first and I shouldn't be too hard on myself. It was definitely a good learning experience, and now I know what to work on for the longer one coming up here in Charlotte in June!

Before the swim

Finishing up- the end of the run

With Kristie and Jesse- two others from my church who did the triathlon

**Ministry update: I was supposed to be leaving for 2 1/2 weeks in Ukraine this Thursday, Mar. 14th, but due to everything that is going on in Crimea at the moment, that portion of the trip has been cancelled. I've been watching everything for weeks, and staying in touch with in-country staff. I was just getting to the point where I was going to begin planning out my daily time with staff, when I was asked to cancel the trip. All of our IM missionaries have emergency plans set in place(though only part of one family has currently left the country), and IM doesn't want to add another person to the total number of personnel that would potentially need to be evacuated were things to get worse. So, as of right now, I've cancelled my Ukraine tickets and am looking at spending a week or so in Hungary following Staff Conference in Slovakia. I've been working on these new details yesterday and today, and am hoping to purchase new tickets tomorrow, either in and out of Vienna or Budapest. Would sure appreciate prayers for all of these last minute changes, and for the peace of Ukraine!