And now...to Africa!

12:14pm Monday August 8, 2011
Somewhere off the coast America…well, maybe a good chunk over the ocean by now…

It’s hard for me to believe that I am in the air for second international trip in two months. I am so unbelievably lucky to have traveled as much as I have in my life, let alone hit up both Ireland and Africa in one summer.
Minus a small hiccough around 9:00 last night when we got a notification that our 5:50 am flight had been mysteriously cancelled which caused 45 minutes of flurrying to get us rerouted, our travels today have gone completely smoothly. Even my alarm going off at 3:30am wasn’t unbearable as I woke up in my parents’ house with our cat purring away on my chest. There are worse ways to start an adventure such as this…
Once we got to Washington where we had a little extra time on our layover and after standing in our Ethiopian Airlines check-in line for multiple multiplications of 5 minute chunks (we kept ourselves busy with a discussion of which Disney character we wanted to be today, which Disney movie was the best, and our favorite fast-food restaurants), Courtney and I made a beeline for a breakfast sandwich place we had passed in their airport and feasted sumptuously on sausage/bacon, egg and cheese paninis. They were delicious.
We boarded our plane and got underway with no issues and perfectly on time. The 777 we’re on is so wide and high-ceilinged and white-toned that it feels like a classroom, not a tube filled with humans hurtling through the sky, and now, writing on my laptop, I feel like I could easily be taking notes in school, albeit in a rather cramped (but uncommonly plushy) seat. Courtney was able to switch seats so now we’re sitting together on this mammoth 13 hour flight, which is a blessing. We’ve been laughing a lot, she’s been listening as I tell her about my analytical discoveries in e. e. cummings’ works, and I’ve been cheering her on in her plane-wide computerized Sudoku tournament. At this point, she’s 12th on the plane (impressive) beaten out only by 39H and 22H. I’ll continue rooting for 22F though. I have great faith she’ll make it to #1 in the next nine hours or so. Then we’ll celebrate (probably by sharing one of the mini bottles of wine and trying to sleep. We’re party animals, obviously).

11:46pm my time, or 6:46 am Africa time; Six hours later….
The sun is rising over western Africa. I can barely see out of the window across the aisle from me but I can make out the sky glowing bright orange, fading gradually to blue then violet as my eye moves upward over the tip of the airplane’s wing. According to my map of our flight, we are somewhere over Jeddah, having traveled 6595 miles in the last eleven hours from Washington D.C.
I am interested to see the airport at Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. Although I’ve traveled many places in my life, a country that is essentially different in its prosperity level from mine is not something that has crossed my path before. Ireland is a far cry from Africa. It’s a huge blessing to have Courtney here on this trip with me. It’s been very smooth so far, but navigating the return journey alone will be easier having done it once with someone. I can’t believe that I’ll be in Africa and seeing Mandie and the babies in a few (or more than a few, but who’s counting?) hours. Years and years ago, when I was probably eight or nine, I remember laying in my bed trying to fall asleep when I heard resoundingly in my head the word, “Africa!” This was at the point where I thought that in order to be a “good Christian” one had to be a missionary to Africa, and I didn’t think I wanted to be a missionary to Africa, and was terrified that I would “have” to. I was petrified when I heard that word, “Africa!” resounding in my head. But now I’m not. I know God uses and flows through us in any place and through each of our individual stories, whether it be in America, or Africa, or Cuba, or Haiti or Canada. Not all are called to serve our Father and others in a different country. I, for one, think I may be used as locally as my neighbors or someone in my community, but that does not mean I can’t be in other places. Although all those years ago, I was scared God was “calling” me to go to Africa, today I believe He just might have been telling me that I should get used to the fact that I’d be going someday. I’m not even sure I’m going to be “used” or to do something (which sounds so altruistic and admirable, which it is) for others. I think it’s much more likely that God is taking me there to give me something; it’s not necessarily a trip where I could feel “better” about myself for “doing good,” but instead, God will be giving to me when I thought the only reason I could go to Africa was to serve. He has a funny way of turning our preconceived notions on their heads and surprising us with new ways of thinking and unexpected outcomes to things for which we assumed we knew the plan…
I have no idea what the next ten days hold for me or Mandie or Courtney or anyone else I will encounter, child or adult. But I’m willing to see and adapt. I’m learning how to let go of my plans, be spontaneous if you will. However, spontaneity with God overlooking my lack-of-plan is much more restful than simply living with no direction or plan whatsoever. I don’t necessarily know what my next step or next decision or next experience will be, but even while I am letting go of that control, I know that somehow, someone does know what my tomorrow holds. Someone knows the decisions I make before I make them, but at the same time still allows me to make each selection as I so choose in His gift of free will. What a strange paradox, that of personal, un-pre-planned choice versus a foreknowledge by someone of those choices (although “versus” sounds rather adversarial and I don’t mean it to; I think the two can coexist perfectly). Put simply, I believe I get to make the choices in my life that steer my course from place to place, but that God simply knows those choices even before I do. In this knowledge, he has not violated the freewill he gave me. Instead in his intimate and infinite knowledge of me and this world, he simply knows the choice I will make. Simple as that.
So here’s to something old, in that I heard the pre-echo of this trip some thirteen years ago; and to some new, in that I am excitedly venturing far into a part of my Self that I did not know existed. It will be an adventure.
And by the way, Ethiopian Airlines is the BEST simply because 1) they have Carlsberg, which is my favorite beer, but 2) [and most importantly] the serve steaming hot, and super strong black tea after each meal.
These thirteen hours flew by. I’m almost to Africa.

We are safely in Mandie’s house at Jinja! After buying our visas and getting our bags, we met up with Mandie easily. It was SO good to see her. She had one of the babies, A.R., with her and after our first meeting, I got to cuddle her for a long time. She’s such a snuggle monkey  We ran some errands and picked up two of the other girls who live with Mandie and made the 2 hour drive back here to Jinja. Our plan is to have dinner and chill out this evening, no big plans. I’ll continue to write (more interestingly than this last paragraph I dearly hope) tomorrow or later tonight. This is and will continue to be an adventure, and I’m loving it.