expect: verb
1.to look forward to; regard as likely to happen; anticipate the occurrence or the coming of
2.to look for with reason or justification
3. to suppose or surmise; guess.
I preface my narrative with this definition to emphasize the uncertainty and mere surmise of my words. If there is one thing I know, it is that I do not know anything. However, I would be lying if I said I had never envisioned my time on the field nor held certain anticipations for the experience I will have. Those hopes and attempts at clarity are as follows:
I expect to be ripped from my comfort zone.
I expect to understand cultures and their idiosyncrasies with a deeper respect.
I expect to become enraged by the injustices I witness.
I expect to love and grow to crave community of the World Race fashion.
I expect to, repeatedly, choke down foreign cuisine with a forced smile on my face.
I expect to want Starbucks & Mexican food so bad that it hurts.
I expect to see Christ move in unimaginable ways.
I expect my wonderful team to, at times, absolutely drive me crazy.
I expect to miss my family.
I expect to frequently reminisce about my beloved college friends & wonder why I ever moved on.
I expect to be used by Christ in powerful and sometimes scary ways.
I expect to see the most beautiful thing I’ve ever witnessed.
I expect to, at least once, wish I had never decided to do World Race.
I then expect to be promptly reminded & confirmed in my decision.
I expect to be dirty & to go so long without showering that it grosses even me,a less than frequent showerer, out.
I expect to fall in love with something- a child, a family, a country, a cause.
I expect for nothing to ever be easy.
I expect to have the experience of a lifetime.
I expect to never be the same.
But most of all, I expect to not have my expectations met & in turn, be given something I could have never even known to expect.
