Final Boarding Call

It's been a fun, crazy, somewhat disjointed summer, and I'm sitting here pinching myself trying to register the fact that I'm moving to Peru today. What?! Sounds cool, huh? I'm in the middle of a lot of thoughts and emotions, but mostly I'm just really excited. I'm excited to see what Peru and Trujillo are like, I'm excited to be in the culture, I'm excited to meet people and build relationships, I'm excited to grow, learn, and be challenged, I'm excited to see how God is at work and what God will be doing. So yeah... mostly I'm just excited. :)

I'm actually also excited about moving. That's the most intimidating part, too. But the closest I've ever been to moving is going to college. Yes, that was moving, but it was into a dorm, and I was 2 hours from home, and I made it home at least a 2 or 3 times a semester. Needless to say, this will be a bit different. But I'm looking forward to this being a next step, to doing something new, to moving forward.

It was interesting, though - as this was all becoming more real, people in my family have been going through a lot of transitions. One of those was my grandmother selling her house. One evening near the closing date, as we were taking a few last loads of things to the street, I found myself in the basement. The familiar, damp smell and some of the last, old pieces immediately brought me back to my childhood and all my memories there. However, that wasn't what really drew my attention. My granddad's old workbench still stood in the back corner. Above it hung old tools, beside it stood a metal toolbox and two sawhorses he'd built, on top of it rested a box of drawers, each neatly labeled to indicate its contents of nails, bolts, and miscellaneous items. My grandfather passed away almost four years ago, but here you could clearly see his eye for organization and careful detail in this one space that would now be used by a new family.

It made me think about where I come from. I come from him, that house, my memories. I come from my family, Tupelo, and 22 years worth of life and experiences that have blessed my socks off. I come from four formative years at BSC where I learned, grew, changed, and developed relationships with some incredible people who I will cherish the rest of my life. And I come from relationships with family and forever-friends at home with whom I feel honored to still be so close. Silver and Gold. So, I guess it was just an important reminder that I'm a product of relationships and experiences from my whole life. BOTH from the past four years at college AND from all the treasures at home. And that will always be where I come from.

The cool part is, we get to keep adding levels to that. Now I'll get to add Peru to that list of what has impacted, affected, and shaped me. I'll miss a lot about being closer to home, but I wouldn't trade it. And, in the words of Bilbo Baggins (humor my nerdiness), "I think I'm quite ready for another adventure..."

Well, ready or not, here we go! Thanks for your prayers and for being so special to me. Looking forward to keeping in touch. See you on the other side!