30/01/11
Just 9 days now, it's starting to become a reality.
I've done lots and lots of planning (with a great deal of help from both parents):
- booked the 4-day trail to Machu Picchu i.e. where I have dreamt of going for around 5 years, and also booked the flight to get me to Cusco which is where the trail leaves from. I am unbelievably excited.
- bought a camera + case + 4gb memory card for about £160, not bad at all. just hope it doesn't get robbed.
- practised packing my rucksack and everything I have so far fits, which is always a good thing when going on holiday. if the worst comes to the worst I'll go wearing multiple pairs of boxer shorts and tshirts and a shoe on each hand.
- developed an itinerary for my travelling after the mission. the first 2 months is ALL sorted by OM, but between April 10th and May 30th I'm left to my own devices.
My proposed route has me flying from Panama City to Cusco, doing the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu, heading down to La Paz (Bolivia) via Lake Titicaca, heading on a slow train to northern Chile, visiting many of the picturesque lakes, towns, glaciers, hot springs etc. in Chile including a tour where you drink whisky with ice that has been frozen for millennia! then I'll cruise back up to Panama City and fly home.
Not bad.
Really excited because I pretty much know that this is going to be the best experience and best time of my life so far, so the prospect of that is awesome. but having to leave my family, Harbury, my friends and everything I know and love about my life is really damn scary.
Because I really do love my life, I have a lot that I take for granted and a lot that I wouldn't change if I could and I'm privileged to know a really amazing and inspirational group of people who I am lucky to call my friends and family (you know who you are).
And I suppose that's why I'm going.
Because although things are good and comfortable, that makes my life unchallenging to a large degree. and if I'm never challenged, I'll never develop in any facet of my life whatsoever.
My primary cause for doing this mission is to spread the word of God ("make disciples of all nations") because I am lucky and blessed to have the life I have and to know God, and I want other people to hear about His love and His message and the fact that there is always hope no matter where your life has taken you.
and although I could have done that in the UK, I think that the only way I can fully commit to the mission I'm doing is to have that as my complete focus and therefore, not be in familiar territory.
And Panama is definitely not familiar territory.
So that's why I'm going.
JG
this comment definitely touched my heart haha:) no i'm serious i think it's so true what you've written about how lucky we are and how scary it is to think that people there probably don't understand you and just adapting to a complete whole new way of living with not always having access to internet of signal for your phone. I'm so excited for you! And you're definitely in my prayers! I think one thing I want to advise you is take a notepad and pen everywhere you go so that you can drop down your experiences, impressions or thoughts straight away as i know that when i've travelled with my family to all these different countries I barely remember my impressions, and i sometimes already forgot them by the end of the day! anyways i'll see you sunday, for the last time, scary stuff! Good luck with prepping
ReplyDeletexxxx Marieke
i didn't mean you...
ReplyDeletejoke :)
thanks for the advice, i'll make sure i do
xx