5 hour tour of my wide range of emotions

6:10am - alarm waking me up from my 2 hours 50 minutes of sleep. as usual, i fumble around with my eyes closed trying to silence the middle eastern tones blaring from my cell phone.

6:12am - i forcibly pry my sweetly shut eyes open, and i remember why this terrible feeling is about to be worth it. THIS IS THE DAY I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR.  

about a month ago I found out that my wonderful job with World Vision placed me on an upcoming book tour with one of my favorite authors, donald miller. He would be doing a 65-city tour all over the U.S. and parts of Canada, and I was to be tagging along, helping encourage his audience members to participate in World Vision's child sponsorship programs. I couldnt have dreamed up a better combination of things i love. God continues to show me just how well He knows me... and loves me. Such a fundamental lesson, yet it touches my core every time I experience it. 

6:18am - time to open the blinds. my eyes are still only open as much as necessary to keep me from running into things. but as the blinds begin to open - my eyelids went from 0-60 in .01 seconds as they were met by the most captivating shades of orange and pink strewn about the sky. a smile swept across my face. my exhaustion disappeared, and i was instantly filled with excitement for the day to unfold. i even grabbed my camera to document the moment. needless to say, i dont see sunrises too frequently. 

6:38am - my uncle is driving me to the airport. we're laughing and talking. if any of my friends could seen me, they would have never guess it was in the 6 o'clock am hour. 15 minutes behind us, 20 more to go. and suddenly, a wave of panic takes over. I FORGOT MY PASSPORT. no way. i've never done this. ever. and i've done some pretty brainless things, but this was a first... of ALL the things. my passport. 

my prayer last night for God to give me humility on this tour comes screaming back to my memory.

6:39am - exit freeway. turn around. drive like the wind. 

6:57am -  my aunt comes running outside, passport in hand, kisses my cheek, and then my uncle proceeded to drive faster than i've ever seen him drive. my plane was leaving in 58 minutes. 

GREAT. they say first impressions are everything, and mine was looking grimmer as the seconds ticked on. missing my flight was not an option.

6:58-7:18am - a quick prayer for peace and trust that God would work it all out. but i must admit, most minutes were spent in a frenzy trying to figure out alternative routes, airline customer service manipulation, and traffic reports from the radio. thanks to kanye's big screen debut last night at the VMAs, (if you missed it, treat yourself to shock and disgust here. ) not one DJ offered the advice we were craving. 

7:29am - hug my uncle goodbye and race inside to check my baggage. my heart was racing. 

7:30am - i'm pretty sure the words the ticket-counter-lady used were, NO POSSIBLE WAY. my heart sank. i could still make my flight, but my baggage couldn't & we both had to be on the same flight. since i had packed my life up for 2 months, carrying it on was completely out of the question. the lady at the check-in counter was less than excited to use her critical thinking skills and help me come up with a plan B. After reconsidering that my intense desire to blame her for my shortcomings was a bad idea, i thought desperately for ways to coerce her into doing her job. somewhere between thanking her profusely and wiping back tears, she obliged and offered a few suggestions. 

the original plan was to arrive in portland at 1:11pm, meet up with everyone there, and all drive to Vancouver, B.C. tonight - hence, the necessity of having my passport with me today. a duplicate Plan B didn't look promising. 

8:01am - 32 minutes, 3 airlines and $400 later - southwest saved the day. well, as much as one could really achieve hero status when they charge $400 for it.  the sigh of relief felt unbelievable. not totally out of the woods though. i would still be arriving 2 hours later than scheduled, meaning my idea of a good 1st impression had to be revised.

(currently on layover thinking of ways to overcompensate... brownies? starbucks gift cards? "praying for you" note cards personalized to each member of the team? . . . . No? surprisingly, in recent years my need for approval has actually progressed. it has shifted from that of an unashamed, overly excited puppy dog who will lather on kisses and uninhibited love to prove his likability ... to a 7-year-old child who insists on bringing extra large candy bars to his classmates at all holiday affairs while the rest of the classroom exchanges the falsely advertised "fun-size" candies. if you read this before i buy out the duty free minimart, i'm open to suggestions.)

8:29am - email brent, the tour manager, to let him know of my misfortunes and apologize profusely offering whatever i can to make it easier.

8:55am - take off. goodbye nashville. see you in a month. 

9:05am - resume audio book of william p. young's, The Shack. 

9:37am - accidentally sniffle loud enough while listening to the book, causing both gentlemen sitting on either side of me turn to stare at me. one confused. one concerned. oy.

10:00am - land in Kansas City on a 3-hour layover. 

10:11am - find email from brent encouraging me to Shake it off. it's not going to be a problem. 

Thank you God for grace. I especially want to represent World Vision well, not to mention the role God has called me too. I'm reminded that this fear of never having any room to make a mistake is ridiculous. 

10:22am - eating a healthy breakfast of pepperoni sbarro pizza while waiting on my next flight. 

10:31am - michelle calls me from egypt. the first time i've actually been next to my phone since she's moved there. we talked for 20 minutes and it was SOOOO good for my heart. i miss her terribly. she is doing amazing though. and it's great to hear God be faithful to my dear friend as she's learning and growing on the other side of the planet. we laughed a lot too. analogies of her on graduation night compared to the everyday occurrences of egyptian men yelling, screaming, then loving each other 2 minutes later was perfect. may those jokes never die. (you vanguard friends KNOW.)

11:00am - here i am, waiting to board my plane to portland where I expect to officially meet everyone for the first time. (almost everyone. i worked with dear brent this last spring on a different tour.) not sure what all to expect on this tour, but i've come a full 360 since this morning. i cant wait for what's to come. 

no more prayers for humility though. :)

 

more to come,

mel