Pearson Airport

This really should have been one of the first entries (and if I figure out how to rearrange the order, it will be).

The airport...that was a day. I woke up and my first thought was, 'I am leaving for Ghana today'. It didn't seem real, but I knew it was. At church I soaked up all of the atmosphere that I could. My Pastor prayed for me at the end of service, afterwhich I spoke with some of the church elders. One thing that stood out was when one of the elders that I played soccer with last year asked me, "so is this your first missions trip". I told him, I'm not doing missionary work. He replied that no matter where you go, and for whatever reason, you go with God.

After that, I headed to a funeral for the mother of a good friend of mine. I really wanted to spend the afternoon with her, but I still had to finish packing. When I got home, I was feeling stressed as I still needed to get some medication and run some quick errands. Ok, I will write something that I might not have normally typed. After returning from my errands, I was listening to the CHFI in the car and Alicia Keys was singing "Some people want it all..." At that point, with the service, the funeral, the reality sinking in, the rush, the delay (everything seemed to be taking too long), thinking I lost my cell phone, not being packed with a half hour to leave and being there alone in my driveway - plus the deep sense of purpose, change and growth I feel about this all - I just started to cry. My heart was just so full.

After going inside, I started to get things together. With the help of Denice, Alison and Joanne, I got all packed and headed to the airport.

By then, a small entourage was waiting to see me off. Asking how I felt, I don't know if I really told them much. I was just enjoying seeing them all.
















We relaxed in a restaurant at the airport until the last minute. I was actually the last person to board the plane. Walking through the customs set up, is a moment that I can see so clearly: saying 'bye' to everyone there was...I felt calm, and overwhelmed, but on purpose. I didn't want to leave them (I had been prolonging 'see you laters' before I left) , but when it was time to go, I was on my way.