And so it has begun. After months of anticipation and preparation I am well on my way. I am typing this at the airport in Johannesburg as I sip a latte in a very tall glass, and enjoy some lovely french toast with Maple syrup and bacon. My view is of the runway and is a reminder of how airports connect the nations.
This is not my first time at this airport. 20 years ago when I was 20 I had a layover here travelling back from visiting friends in Zimbabwe. There was a strike with the company I was flying with and so instead of a direct flight from Harare to London, I had to fly via Johannesburg. I remember how nervous I was, wondering how I would figure out the whole changing planes thing, and remember finding it all quite an ordeal despite being upgraded to business class (which at that time meant sitting next to a chain-smoking gentleman and with the entertainment system not working for the whole very long flight). Looking back I see how much things have changed. How much I have changed. How much life adds to us wisdom and experience and the peace in knowing that things mostly work out somehow. Getting on a series of flights to reach a destination has become normality, and I have learnt to savour not just the arriving, but also the travelling, realizing that every journey really begins the moment an idea or thought or dream starts to become a concrete plan.
Expectations. They are there whether we have formulated them or not. Life has been busy and I've not found enough time in the past weeks to really sit down and think about this trip in a focused way. Not enough time to pray and ask God what He has for this mini-missions trip. And yet I feel such a surge of excitement as I sit here. A bit zombielike energy wise (flights are a cause of interrupted sleep, and it might just be my age, but the seats seemed even narrower than before even for me with short legs), but feeling light. Full of peace and like the weight of the every-day having been lifted, leaving capacity to see more and take in more. Ready for what these week will contain and hold, hoping that as I get to live life here for a tiny while, that I can be a blessing to those I meet along the way.
I just ordered a glass of mango juice, and the thick sweet flavour takes me back to Brazil where there was so much life. I hope this time can also bring renewed life to my heart as I again step out of what is comfortable and familiar, and get to see the faithfulness of God in the midst of it.