How to Meet the Man of Your Dreams and Marry Him in Four R&R's

Some of my friends are encouraging me to write a 'How To' book on Bryan and I's whirlwind romance. How it works in Darfur world is that people get breaks which we call R&R's every six to eight weeks. In the last three R&R's since October I have met the man of my dreams and somehow convinced him that he wants to marry me. My fourth R&R will be off to Canada to actually get married. This is a rather uncommon occurrence here amongst this transient community of aid workers. My friends and coworkers are more than excited for me and want to know how they can do the same. I'm not too sure what to tell them but I do highly recommend it.

In February I met up with Bryan in Kenya where he proposed to me overlooking the Rift Valley. It was truly romantic. Then we prepared to head off to very cold Canada to meet the family. We had a great time over eating, spending time with family and friends and trying to plan the wedding during the two weeks that we were there. Bryan's parents were able to come down for a few days which was really great to get to know them and show them the Rocky Mountains for the first time. Our time in Canada couldn't have gone better, we had a great time.

Our time in Kenya before I had to go back to Sudan was extended a little. This we were both very thankful for. We have spent so much time apart that when I had delays in getting a visa to enter Sudan plus a deportation once I got there, we were very thankful for the difficult Sudanese government. However after some apologies for my wrongful deportation and their promises that I could re-enter the country we had the painful task of saying goodbye once again.

So now I sit in very hot Darfur (43 degrees today) and wait for the man of my dreams to come for a visit. Here's a hint for my single friends - when you meet a man that will travel to Darfur to visit you, marry him. In a week Bryan will be coming out here to see the strange place that I have called home for the last two years. It's great timing in that I have to take a grand tour of all my locations over the next month to write final reports and wrap up my time here.

As I prepare all my information to complete my programs for the year I have to say that I'm pretty proud of my team and everything that we have been able to accomplish. Last year when I came in we had one program for about $175,000 and this year I am hoping to pull in $1,200,000 for the education program. So even though I won't be seeing all of this through I'm pretty pleased to leave it on a high note. I will write more about things as I get some more photos and info over the next few weeks.

It's strange to think of leaving Darfur but I'm really excited for the adventures that I'm going to have as a married woman. Who knows, we could be back here together.