Wow.

In two days I will be on the other side of the world.

When I got to work this morning, one of my co-workers asked me if I was excited.

"Yes!!"

Then she asked if I was nervous.

"Yes!!"

I'm very excited about the mission trip part of this trip. I'm a little nervous about the staying-in-a-foreign-country-with-people-I-don't-know-who-speak-another-language part of this trip.

Two thoughts calm me: 1. They are probably just as nervous to have someone they don't know staying with them. 2. They are really just brothers and sisters in Christ that I haven't met yet.

Brandon Heath has a new song out that begins "comfortable, don't get comfortable" and later on says "you're gonna live like you used to dream." I had that song on my mind last night as I was cluttering my apartment with my "packing piles." I got in the car this morning and the first thing I heard..."comfortable, don't get comfortable." And then Jars of Clay's "Love in Any Language"...and then the morning guy commenting on the significance of that song for people on international missions trips...and then the Newboys' "He Reigns" ("...the song of Asian believers, filled with God's holy fire; it's every tribe, every tongue, every nation; a love song born of a grateful choir...") and then I just had to say "I get it. Thank You."

This trip has been so much harder to prepare for than any in the past. Most of the mission trips I've been on have been the bring-your-old-clothes-to-work-in type. This trip is more the need-to-look-nice-everyday-but-be-able-to-work-with-kids-and-always-be-prepared-to-leave-your-shoes-at-the-door type. And there are so many little details. Like finding out if your insurance is international. Needing a converter for electric outlets. Getting used to wearing a watch again (my time piece, the cell phone, would just be a paper weight in Korea.) And not knowing what the food will be like. (Just in case, my suitcase has a stash of power bars, granola bars, and dried fruit. Just in case.)

I hope to be able to update my blog while I'm there, but it's another unknown. I may be able to update everyday, or I may not be able to until I get home. Just keep checking.