I leave for Honduras in just over 24 hours…
Um, excuse me?… I’m going to say that again… just for my own sake…
I leave for Honduras in just over 24 hours!?
That’s cray. So so cray.
What’s even more crazy to me is that day 3 of this adventure is already complete. I feel like it was just this morning that I was at home packing way too much stuff to carry around on my back for a year (which, by the way, I sent a bag of stuff home with my dad this afternoon when he left the portion of training he was invited to. Whew! So thankful for that and him!).
Just to clarify for those of you who might not have quite understood – I have been in Washington D.C. since Monday evening training for the work we’re going to do overseas. It’s been getting real crazy real fast, and I’m excited.
I’m excited to be back with my team. It’s been so sweet reuniting with everyone. It’s been so nice being able to sit down with people who are in this with me. To talk with individuals who completely understand what it feels like to drop everything in America and walk away in order to embark on this adventure we’ve been called to. Who understand how absolutely IN-SANE this whole trip is. Who I can freak out with… be excited with… pray with… and talk things through with (though, friends and family in America have been extremely supportive and good to talk things through with as well… but you know what I mean). I’m excited to spend 11 months with these people. To learn and grow with them. To live in community with them. To draw closer to God with them. To experiences challenges with them. To laugh, cry, discuss, serve, etc. with them. Just to live life with them. It’s going to be pretty amazing, I’m sure.
I’m also excited to be learning more about what it means to be one of the logistics leaders for my team. At first I was pretty overwhelmed with the thought of organizing travel plans for 45 people from one country to the next – wondering why my leaders chose me for the position and if I could handle such a big responsibility. BUT I was then quickly reminded by God that: sure, I might not be able to handle the responsibility at times, but regardless of the situation, HE can handle it and will cause everything to work out – even if it's last minute. After understanding that important nugget of information, I was also reminded of the fact that I freaking love this kind of stuff! I love details. I love schedules. I love making plans. I love traveling. I love problem solving. I love figuring things out. I love math. I love budgets. I think (most of the time) I will love figuring out the logistics of our traveling days. Just as importantly, I have also been reminded of the facts that: A. I have been partnered up with an intelligent, proactive, easy-going, hilarious guy named Jordan Alessi for this task… and we’re in this together. I know we’re going to have a ton of fun together figuring this stuff out… and B. That my squad leaders and trip coordinator have our backs. They’re not going to leave us high and dry in the process. They’re in this with us 100%. We’re going to survive!
Most importantly, I’m excited to be learning more about God’s presence and about what it means to listen for His voice, follow it, and then rest in His grace and peace afterwards. It's been overwhelmingly good.
So… tomorrow night (or tonight depending on when you read this) is the night. We have one more day left of training. We are supposed to have our bags packed and ready to go before it starts at 9 am. Once training is complete, we will throw our bags on our backs and walk out the door of the hotel. What little sleep we get will be on the floor of an airport terminal. Our flight takes off around 6 AM Friday morning and we’ll be in Honduras by the afternoon… like I said… things are getting REAL crazy REAL fast, and I’m pumped!
Adios!
