I have known from the moment I agreed to go on this trip with Compassion that it would be a learning experience for me. However, I had no idea I would learn so much before I even got to Miami. Here are just a few gems I have gathered in the five hours (Or six? All the time changes have me all screwed up. Daylight Savings! Eastern Time! Central Standard Time!) since I left home.
1. I decided to bring P’s backpack as my carry-on. It seemed very utilitarian and mission trip-y, plus it holds a ton of stuff. This morning as I walked out the door, he handed me the backpack and made the comment that he could tell just by lifting it that I’d packed it wrong. And I was all like, “Whatever. There isn’t a science to packing a backpack. You just throw stuff in.”
Guess what? After walking through two airports carrying the backpack, I believe it is packed all wrong because the weight distribution is terribly uneven. Sadly, I do not have enough knowledge or backpack expertise to remedy this problem.
2. At the D/FW airport they no longer call the public bathrooms “Restrooms”. They call them what they are “Toilets”. I find the honesty to be refreshing.
3. On my flight to Dallas, I sat next to a man who inhaled a 32 oz. bag of Barbecue Corn Nuts in three bites, a task he accomplished by turning the bag up three times and taking huge mouthfuls of Corn Nuts.
I have never seen such efficient snack eating in my life. Seriously. The only way he could have cut down his time would be to grind those suckers up and put them in an I.V.
4. If you listen to Hillsong’s “Savior King” while on your way to a mission trip in the Dominican Republic, it will make you cry at the privilege to be a part of something so incredible.
I believe that’s all for now, but I’ll keep you posted because knowledge is good.