Looong Traveling

When I first interned with CCC here at SFA 5 years ago, I could have never imagined the road God had ahead for me. If you would have told me that I would be going to Ethiopia, much less leading a project there, I would have probably just laughed and laughed. This is a recurring thought I had as we traveled around the world, and travel we did. This was a lot harder than just a quick flight to Colorado or Florida, this was 16-18 hours of flying plus hours of lay over. What a beating. All that travel gave me plenty of time. Time for watching corny in-flight movies, reading the Bible, reading The Hobbit, awkward sleeping, and plenty of time to think. Quite a few people have already asked about what my favorite part of the trip was. The travel doesn't make the top 5, but it is a huge part of my experience as a whole, which is one of the things I'll remember the most. The travel was challenging to me because for one, I was the guy in charge, I made the decisions, I lead, they followed, my demeanor would likely determine theirs. Here's a little secret, half the time I had no idea what was happening with the traveling, or where we were supposed to go next. Almost the entire time in Frankfurt Airport the first time was spent by me being paranoid about what to do, but making "calculated guesses" calmly and confidently. When we arrived in Addis Ababa, and had to go through customs, that was tough, but God used the talents and abilities He's given me, to hold the team together, and get them ready to move on through. When we arrived in the Bahir Dar Airport, it took everything within me not to yell out "Where the heck are we?" As we laid our eyes on the terminal being held up largely by some sort of bamboo stick + dirt. Or when we walk out the front where our driver is way late, there are chickens, goats, and Ethiopians with guns.
I am so thrilled that these are my memories. I'm pumped that God put me in a situation where I had to lead, had to take charge, and had to trust in Him and literally every turn. It was truly a blessing to lead our team of students. It is my hope that they felt safe and cared for the entire time, even when I felt like I had no idea what to do next, but praise God that I can boast in my weakness, because through those, God can be strong, and be glorified.