I’ve spent months at a time outside of the US. I have traveled and done things like work on an organic farm and volunteer at a hostel. Being “out of my comfort zone” isn’t particularly new for me.
I remember the months leading up to me going on my first trip that wasn’t for missions or school. I would try to journal about the potential experiences. Those pages contained a lot of, “I wonder what it will be like?” Time and time again I tried to put into words what my future experience may contain, but all I came up with was that solitary question. What will it be like? I did not know what to expect!
Yes, I had gone on the mission trip to Germany. I also went to England my senior year of college. But this was different. This was months of being out of the country, going to places where they did not speak English, where I did not have a guide to lead me nor a translator to assist me. This was a completely new experience, and I did not know what I was getting in to or what to prepare for.
When I ask myself what to expect on this upcoming trip, I think I have a little bit more of a clearer view. Now when I ask myself that question about these upcoming 11 months, I have a few answers. What can I expect? I can expect to be in places with no hot water (or maybe no water). I expect to be tired, a lot. I expect to be with a team of tired people, where we all need to work together and stay a team no matter the circumstances. I know there will be encounters with bugs, big ones, that we do not have (or dream of having) in the states. I expect inclement weather as well as humidity that is unrelenting and doesn’t make people happy. I expect food I have not seen nor eaten, and the look of it will shock me, but I’ll eat anyway because it would be rude not to. I expect to be on a bus with a bunch of smelly people crammed too closely together. I expect to stay in places too small, and be surrounded by what may seem like too many people when we have traveled long days. Did I mention I’ll be tired?
What I’m not sure about is all the good stuff we’ll encounter. How will we change others’ lives? How will they alter ours? What will this trip be like spiritually? What about emotionally? How difficult will it be to say goodbye to those we have encountered once it is time to leave? (My guess is, very difficult!!!) Will we want to stay in every country we visit? Or will the potential to help other people propel us on to the next stop in our journey?
These are the things I have been and will continue to ponder these next few months. These are the questions I can’t answer.
