Okay, so a bit about this whole process of launching. It has not been the easiest. The hardest part, honestly, has been deciding what to bring. Big bottles of shampoo or little bottles? 2 sticks of deordorant or 3? Laundry detergent!?! How many underwear, shoes, socks, shirts, dresses? Ahhhhhh! This is what has been plauging me for two weeks. And all in one pack? After the last two weeks of Christmas and New Years in Loveland, CO this Sunday began at 3am with my mom knocking on the door, "Desirae, its time to get up!"
Now I am not normally a morning person, and this morning was no different especially as it was my final hours to pack a list of over 75 items before flying to D.C.. I had gone to bed three hours before, trying to fit all of my stuff into my pack perfectly and making sure I had everything in order. However, as I had weighed, measured, checked off, and placed everything perfectly in my pack except for the final few items on top I felt confident I would be underweight in the morning, so I went to bed.
Come 4:30 am I finally had everything in. Then, as I went to lift my pack, I could barely get it off the ground. 53 lbs! As our flight was leaving in two hours and we still had an hour drive we threw it in the car and on the way I used my headlamp to pilfer through my bag, getting rid of a few items and rearranging so that I could take as much as possible. So I have already left behind in my parents car:
-An extra sheet (bedliner) for my sleeping bag for warm (and cold) nights; approx 1.5 lbs
-Most of my mess kit except for a small bowl and spoon; approx 1lb & bulky
-Large shampoo and conditioner; approx 2lbs
This is of course after having spent three hours in Wal-mart trying to decide if I should buy the big bottles or the little bottles of shampoo & conditioner. (Irony) You just never know what you're going to need, right? Oh yeah, and today I realized I left my laptop charger in the front room. Currently I have about 10% battery left so I better post this quick! I am having one shipped to the hotel on Thursday. (On a side note free two-day shipping on Amazon Prime has saved my tail this week.)
I was feeling really stressed out from all of this and I could tell because I started getting snappy (taking a tone you might say). This does not happen very often but when it does you know I am on the edge. Having admitted this to my mom as she watched me rearrange everything in my pack in the dark she prayed for me and over our travels (both my mom and my step dad are here with me in D.C. and attending launch). I must say that I believe in the power of prayer because the rest of the day and really this whole trip, have gone perfectly. As we got to the airport way behind schedule we got a parking spot in one of the first rows and made it in the nic of time to our terminal. Praise God.
Also, as I am leaving on a missions trip without any missions experience and never having really shared the gospel with anyone before I have been praying for God to open up opportunities for me and teach me how to do this. Airports are a great place for this and so I prayed a silent prayer for God to give me someone to do this with. Luckily I have spent the last two weeks with a couple of experts at this (praise God again) and on the plane I met Leon from China! He spoke pretty good English and as I began to ask him questions about his hometown and his past I asked him what his religious beliefs were. He said he didn't really have any and so I asked him if he believed in God and had heard of Jesus. In broken sentences and with broken thoughts I attempted to convey to him the gospel that I know in my heart but am still learning to share with others. I was surprised to hear that he knew little of the man called Jesus and really knew little about our creation, the Bible, or anything of religion. Although he didn't accept Jesus right in that moment he listened intently, asking questions and wanting to hear everything I had to say. He also told me I am the 2nd missionary he has met in the last 6 months. So we talked for nearly an hour about it. Then, I prayed with him and left him with the message that as he remains open God will continue to press into him. I know as I go forward God will continue to grow me in this and open up all kinds of opportunities to do this! So awesome!
So here I am in D.C.! Early tomorrow morning we are going to go see the front of the White House (we only saw the back today) and the Capitol Building. Then, around 2pm my mom will drop me off at the Washington Dulles Holiday Inn where I will meet up with the rest of my squad and team (47 on my squad 7 on my team) and begin a 2 day launch process involving fellowship, questions, praise and worship, food, and God's glory. If you all have any questions, comments, encouragement, or want to talk or anything feel free to email, comment, share, etc! My personal email is [email protected] and my # is 4358172511 (though I will only have my phone until Wed) I check my email regularly though. God bless you all and thanks for following! I will post more about launch later but I leave you with a few pix from the last few days…
(Sorry they are sideways my comp is having issues)
