As a kid, my favorite holiday was Christmas. Before I really understood the spiritual meaning behind it, I loved the immense excitement that surrounded that one day. A whole month dedicated to shopping for gifts, decorating the house and tree, baking Christmas cookies, and going to countless parties and White Elephant gift exchanges and family reunions to celebrate the “most wonderful time of the year”.  The minute the weather started to get colder in the fall, most of my attention was directed toward the anticipation of Christmas. And yet every year that month goes by faster than all the others and before I know it we’re buying champagne (okay.. sparking grape juice) and ringing in the New Year again. 

The best way I can think of to describe today is like Christmas. Since December 2013 when I spent almost my entire winter break convincing my parents to let me go on (and financially support – thanks ‘rents!) this adventure, I have been waiting for this day. I would even argue to say that this anticipation started on June 21st, 2013 when I returned from my first trip to Tanzania last summer. 2 weeks was a perfect amount of time to get my first exposure to all that is Tanzania… but when I sat in the airport waiting to board my flight home and hoped that it would get cancelled more than I desired to be back on home soil, I knew that just 2 weeks wasn’t enough.

Now, I’m sitting at the dining room table of my temporary home (#kiltzlandia) trying to soak up my last moments here and wondering if I’ve gone just a leetle crazy. 5 weeks is no quick trip; by the time I get back a whole month will have passed, the World Cup will be over, and my 10-month-old niece Talitha will be one week away from her first birthday. But just like the Christmas season, I have a feeling this may be one of the fastest 5 weeks of my life. I have a theory that the best & most exciting seasons of life also happen to pass by the fastest. Even though 5 weeks seems like an eternity from where I’m standing now, one of my biggest prayers is that it will go by so slowly. I hope that I will have enough time to soak in as much as I can of the culture, the people, & the adventures that are waiting for me on the other side of the ocean. 

At this very moment my emotions are battling between nervous anticipation and joy-filled excitement. Amidst all of my anxiety and last-minute jitters, my biggest comfort has come from knowing that the Lord is going to be with me on this entire trip. I pray that each day the hope that He gives me will anchor my soul in Him (Hebrews 6:19). 

SO… here we go. 🙂 My most anticipated adventure of the summer, my dream come true, crossin’ my fingers that it’s God’s plan too. Try to excuse that unintentional rhyme. The next time you hear from me, I’ll be in my Tanzanian home! 

 

– Allie