65 Days.
There are 65 days left until H Squad (save the few who have opted to stay on the field) will step foot back onto American Soil. Late morning July 25th, we will land at LAX, cross through immigration and gather around the luggage conveyor belts one last time. We will say our teary good byes and go off on our own for the first time in 11 months. In 65 days, the World Race will officially be over. I can’t believe it.
Some days 65 days sounds waaaay too long! Some days 65 days sounds like a blink of an eye.
In those 65 days we will:
-Finish out our time in Mongolia. We will travel out into the Mongolian countryside to encourage house church plants, Perform a Flash Mob in a prominant area of town to continue to foster connections among the urban Mongolian youth in Ulaanbaatar City.
-Have our last Leadership Development Weekend with our full squad
-Spend an almost full month in Ch1na (M1ni5try TBA)
-Spend several weeks in South Korea (M1ni5try TBA)
-Spend 4 days in Japan for our FINAL debrief as a Squad
-Have our Final travel day and make the trek back to North America
-Say goodbye to the family we have grown to know and love for the last 11 months
We have a jam packed 65 days ahead of us. But it is still SO easy to get distracted by the thought of going home. Especially as we begin to make plans, purchase plane tickets, fill out job applications for this coming fall, and try to wrap our brains around this grand adventure coming to a close.
I am ready to go home. I’m ready to hug my parents and siblings. I’m ready to snuggle up in my mom’s bed with my mom and sister and our pets on a saturday morning and watch tv. I’m ready to see and cuddle my puppy. I’m anxious to start my new career. I’m excited to find an apartment, unpack, and actually be settled somewhere for a good while. I’m ready to drive a car again. I’m ready to have the freedom and ability to go somewhere alone if I so choose. I’m ready to be able to choose what I want to eat – whether I choose hot dogs or a ceasar salad, I want to have that choice. I’m ready to have my own room to retreat to when I need introvert time (instead of under tables, setting up my tent, or other “creative” options I have resorted to so far.) I’m ready to have a real bed to sleep in every night.
We have a lot to look forward to. 9 months away from almost everything familiar will make the prospects of going “home” very exciting.
But we still have 65 days left here in Asia! How do we stay focused on the present things we have in front of us, but still not ignore the fact that we are going home?
As the young people of my generation would say…. “The Struggle is Real”.
