I'm sitting at the airport in Romania, 5 hours left with the squad. Everyone checks in at 4am, but I can't until two hours before my flight at noon. Luckily there is a cafe with WIFI open, but most of our friends are sitting in the hallway or passed out. Life right now is surreal. Just to let you into my head a bit, it feels like I am just off to my next ministry location, doing our normal airport sleepover. It hasn't sunk in yet that I'm the only one going and everyone else heads home.
My teammate Megan felt called to stay in Romania for another 3 weeks and help out with the ministry we worked with during Month 10, which is awesome. She left earlier this morning and boy was that goodbye hard. I can't even imagine watching the other 41 people wave goodbye to me.
My next adventure starts immediately. Working on an organic farm in southern Italy and backpacking up through Itay and France, including a hike through the Alps.
I've been planning this trip since Kenya, Month 1. It started as a complete European tour with half the squad, which ended up being, more realistically, about 3 people. Although this turned into just Italy and France by myself around Malaysia, Month 8. By Ukraine, Month 9, the tickets were bought and everything was officlal. Now, it's here. I've been planning it for so long that it still feels like just a fairytale, just an idea in my head.
Tomorrow at noon I fly to Naples, taking a train to Salerno and then Gianpaulo picks me up and takes me to his farm. I am WWOOFing at the farm 'Il Sentiero Del Riccio', meaning 'The Way of the Hedgehog', for 3 weeks. The farm produces wine, olive oil, honey, fruit and nuts. It is basically another ministry location, I will be helping out with whatever is needed in exchange for room and board. After that I am meeting a friend in Naples, who is flying in from America, and backpacking up through Italy (Pompeii, Amalfi Coast, Rome, Florence, Venice), hiking around the Mount Blanc Trail in the Alps, renting a car in France and travelling through Marseille, Aix en Provence, Nice, Bordeaux, Nantes and Paris, where I fly out August 24th. These are all where I am hoping to reach, but who knows exactly how the trip will pan out.
The budget for my trip is very, very small. I am sticking to the World Race budget of $5 per day for food and no budet for housing. I am contacting people through CouchSurfing.com and camping. Taking trains around Italy and possibly hitchhiking a bit. Thankfully WWOOFing cuts the cost of my trip in half, since the first 3 weeks will all be paid for. Also, I've been collecting leftover, 'non-perishables' for the past couple months, so basically I've been toting around a 10 pound back of tea bags and oatmeal.
What started as an idea for just a fun trip, has become a great experience to begin backpacking missions. I am going to meet tons of travellers, strangers and new friends that I will be able to share the Gospel with, share my stories and my heart with, to love and to help. I am so excited to be challenged in this aspect and to gain valuable eperience before entering into leading teams in backpacking missions in Argentina. As I've said before, I've felt convicted to start using my passions for meeting people, travelling, food/culture and music for God's glory, not for my own. This trip has become a great test in this aspect. I first had all of these ideas so that I could see places, take great pictures and eat amazing pizza/drink great wine. These things are awesome, but God has called me out of that. I mean, travelling for selfish reasons is almost pointless, empty. I can have great pictures and stories, but did I change a single life? Did I leave Europe better than when I came? I have a passion to help people, a burden to share. "Now that I have seen, I am responsible. Faith without deeds is dead."
Maybe I'm just rambling now, but this is my heart.
Well, this is it, my last blog while on the race. Please pray for encouragement, strength and boldness as I enter the mission field by myself. It is going to be dang hard saying goodbye to these amazing people I have come to know so well over these past 11 months tomorrow morning. Let alone sitting in the airport by myself for the 8 hours after they leave. Honestly, I am tired. Signing up to volunteer on the farm definitely sounded, and still sounds, awesome. It is a way to save money for my trip, plus I love gardening, but volunteering for 11 months straight, while constantly travelling, becoming friends and then saying goodbye to people, can be wearing. I know I need to rest, rest in the Lord more than just for physical strength. It is only by His strength that I have been able to do any of this and it is only by His strength that will be able to continue.
Thank you all for your prayers and your continued support, I am so blessed by ALL of you.
