Travel Day
We've been traveling for the better part of about 15 hours now. We're in Panama City at the airport waiting for our flight to Santiago. I'm tired, but still so excited. This last flight was about 3 hours long, but it was a ghost flight, not full, so we each got our own row to stretch out on. I have to say, being little does have its perks sometimes.
I hate that it is taking a whole day to get to Santiago—I just want to get started!--but being in transit with this team has been fun. Greg, our pastor, is the only dude with all these chicas. It's actually been so fantastic getting to know the half of the team that I didn't know previously, and then having the time to do this with Greg, Brittany, and Vickie who I have known since moving to SoCal some 7 years ago. I went with Greg to Kenya with our church in 2008, and I have also traveled with Brittany who met up with me right after that Kenya trip in Rome – that was a strange transition, let me tell you. Those stories are in this travel journal if you want to look up (way way way back) past posts.
I have no concept of time. I think we've been through 3 different time zones already. I turned off my service once we left Houston, and I didn't bring a watch. It's like Vegas hanging out in these airports for so long—I think we would have been waiting about 9 hours in 3 airports—and just not feel the time. Except we don't have slot machines.
The last time I was out of the country was in 2012 to Cannes for work, but I didn't get to see anything, not really. Before that I was able to travel to several countries, and explore most of the U.S., lots of that was for (fun) work as well. Some of it was due to some (arguably) questionable decisions in convincing friends to backpack through Europe with me. I love that my story has so much traveling interspersed throughout the last decade of my life. I know I have been blessed to see and experience more than many, and not of any merit on my end, but by the grace of God and the support of so many loved ones.
Emily gave me a stack of cards yesterday before I left. I wasn't sure what I would find in them, but had instructions to only open one a day, the first to be opened on the plane. On our first leg of flights, I discovered the first note was from my sweet mom. Then I knew what I would find in each, and I didn't want to wait to open the rest, knowing (guessing) I would find words from different people I loved for each day. What a beautiful, and thoughtful gift. I'm not one for tokens or keepsakes anymore, but words I hold onto. Brittany is on duty to make sure I don't open all of them at once! I opened today's when we hit Panama City. It was from Jeff. Of all the people in my circle of friends that come from our community group, I have known him the longest, and I love that I have a note from him.
While reading each of these, I know I have and will have the biggest grin on my face, full of the joy of knowing that though I do miss this – the crazy bohemian life, traveling through strange countries and airports, meeting the most eccentric people, trying the most bizarre foods, not having an “adult” life that requires me to “stay” – I do love this season of my life that I have now, and I find myself finally wanting to stay. In LA of all places. ...for now in any case. I love what I get to do each day for work, which I know is a rare blessing as well. But most of all, it's living in community that makes me feel the fire of God in my heart to love people as He does, and to receive that love in return. We are all here as sojourners for a short, blink-of-an-eye time in the perspective of our big God that abides outside of any kind of linear existence. How awesome.
