Week One:
The Dubious Steps of a Doubting Traveler
I realized that I couldn't sum up a three week trip overseas in one blog post, so I hope you enjoy this three part series!
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| Spices at a traditional Indonesian market in Denpasar, Bali |
I didn’t want to go. After all, I’d only been married for ten months, so leaving my husband for three weeks seemed ridiculous. I’d just started this new job and two months later I was getting on a plane to Indonesia. Normally I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to travel and see the world but this time, I wasn’t so sure.
The day I began my job, my new boss told me that there was no pressure but it would be a great opportunity for me to meet the field staff and experience some of the work we were doing in villages in Indonesia. When I told Andrew about it that night, I’d pretty much already made the decision not to go. To my surprise he said, “That sounds like a great opportunity, you should go!” Darn. If it was remotely possible for Andrew to come with me, I might have felt differently but I had little choice but to leave him for three weeks.
The weeks and days leading up to the trip seemed full of obstacles. I had many worries and fears about going on this trip and so for every obstacle I thought, “Well, that’s it. I shouldn’t go. I can’t go,” and yet God found a way to obliterate the barrier leaving the door wide open.
Just one example was needing to raise a few hundred dollars for the field experience portion of the trip. The deal was that the organization would cover my plan ticket and the staff conference costs but that I would need to raise the funds for the field experience the last week (airfare to a different island, hotel, and food). I had only four weeks to raise these funds, so I sent out a letter to a small handful of people whom I thought would be supportive of such a venture. A small amount of money came in from some of those friends. The clock was ticking and I thought, “Well, there you go. I’m not supposed to go.”
Then, out of nowhere, I received an e-mail from someone whom I hadn’t approached but heard through the grapevine what I was doing and offered to fund the remainder of the balance (over 80% of the cost)! I had money come from another person following that gift whom had only heard about the trip but whom I hadn’t challenged to contribute. In the final week which the money was due, I went from having less than 20% of my needs met to having over 130% of the funds needed. Ok, I get it. I’m supposed to go.
There were many times throughout the weeks leading up to the trip where I had the same pattern of thought, whether it was the money, expediting my passport (it just happened to expire in August, not to mention having my name change adding to the complication), packing while my husband was very ill, etc. Each time, the problem was not only solved, but eradicated so completely that I could only point to God being at work.
Then, I boarded the plane and after a long journey (Indonesia is really far away! Thirteen hours ahead of the Eastern Standard Time Zone...), I arrived in Bali.
In that first week, aside from jet lag and having to sit in meetings all day, I finally had succumbed to that fact that I was here and there was purpose in my being there. As I heard reports of what people were doing to help improve lives of the poor, hidden, and hurting people of the world, I could only be encouraged and grateful for having a broader perspective and understanding of the importance of my job. I was even able to share a little about my job and how the field workers can best communicate their stories. I was able to get to know people of all different backgrounds, from all over the world--Kenya, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Jordan, India, Czech Republic, Switzerland, etc. I also got to explore with my new friends and have some adventures.
Even though my ties to home were much stronger on this trip than back when I was single, by the end of the week, I was grateful to be there and succumbed to the sacrifice of being away and allowed myself to enjoy the journey.
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| I love trying new things...like this spiny looking fruit! |
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| Meeting Michel, from Lebanon was inspiring. He gave up working in his hair salon to do something bigger with his life. Now, not only does he bring aid to Syrian refugees in his country, but he gives haircuts to orphans. |
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| Meeting people from all over the world is so fun! Here, Sushil, (center, in the blue shirt) is teaching us an Indian song and dance. |
