For those of you who have never been on an extended trip before, you may not really understand what it is like to try to get ready for something like leaving home for 6 months. I mean how can you explain everything you feel that final week? Well this may not give you the clearest picture but I will try my best. That way if you are in this situation ever, you can brace yourself for it. You're welcome.
This week did not exactly start the way I thought it would. I had been bringing things in small trips to my parents' house to start working on my packing. So on Monday, I brought over everything I had up to that point. I had still had a few things to gather like toiletries and such but I wasn't convinced that what I had was going to fit in my backpack. Oh yeah, have I mentioned all my stuff had to fit into a hiking backpack? That was a challenge. Anyway, I had fit everything in there and I felt good about where I was at with the weight and everything. It was all good!
...until I ate some restaurant leftovers I had in the fridge. It was only from 2 days before so nothing about it seemed scary or anything. Apparently, I should have just eaten all the candy at the house because it would have made me feel better than that stuff did. For whatever reason, it tore up my stomach! I have never felt so sick. I lost 8 pounds overnight! I am not recommending it as the weight loss method of choice. Needless to say, getting food poisoning kind of put my schedule of things I needed to do on hold. I didn't eat any food for 2 days which left me exhausted and unable to do the things I really needed to get done. It may have been a blessing in disguise though. I got to spend a lot of quality time with my family those days.
So the rest of the week consisted of lists of stuff I needed to accomplish, items I needed to purchase, and of course plenty of stressing out. The last few nights, I kept waking up and needing to remind myself that yes I really was leaving on Monday. And no I had not dreamt up this whole thing. Thankfully when I was asleep it was peaceful and not me freaking out in my dreams. That may have been too much. But eventually everything got done. Everything was purchased. I packed and unpacked and repacked like 3 times to make sure I had everything and every time it was all there. Which was good because I also was having to get ready to move out of my apartment. I realized it was a possibility that I was going to have to but I was hoping it wouldn't happen. But it did and that's okay. My family was so helpful in getting all that done because I was too tired and stressed to have done that on my own.
Sunday was the first day the reality of having to say bye to everyone really set in. Mainly because I was having to bye to everyone. My church is very missioned focused which I absolutely love. I mean obviously it means a lot to me too. So I was given the opportunity to come up during both services and tell all of my church family what I was getting ready to do and they all prayed for me which was amazing. It's almost like I could feel the hugs and love all around me. And then I got real hugs and words of encouragement from people coming up to me saying how they will be praying for me. And then I started to having say goodbye to people. Until then, I had been mostly able to keep my emotions inside like a warrior but it was a serious struggle at that point. How do you fit 6 months worth of love into such a brief amount of time?! But I treasured every one of them. And I will continuously remind myself of all the love I have back home.
Today is officially flight day. My family all drove me to Jacksonville (oh they also took me to Melting Pot for dinner last night.. Holla!!). Anyway, it was nice to have them there while I got checked in and everything. And then we reached the security gate and it was like the gates that were holding my emotions together just gave out. It's hard to keep it in like a warrior when I just love them so much!! But I had to put my gameface on and face it like a boss!! And then walk through security like an awkward middle schooler... but I successfully made it on my first flight and now I am waiting for my second one and then somehow finding a group of people who I have never met before. I'm hoping the giant backpacks will be a big clue I'm in the right spot.
Thank you so much for all the love, prayer, and support all of you have given me! I hope to be updating my blog pretty regularly but I really have no idea what to expect. You can always ask my family for any news if it's been awhile since I have been able to post. I'm sure they will love your prayers and support almost as much as I do!
Ps. Did I mention the low tomorrow night in Indiana is -6?!! I'm literally going to freeze my face off!
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