Today is the day that the Lord has made...

So far my YAGM adventure has been far from smooth.  Being at camp this summer and getting paperwork in and more importantly in on time was a skill I never quite mastered.  Getting things done when I was home in a timely manner and according to my mother’s schedule, was never accomplished.  Once I got to Chicago for orientation on Wednesday, I realized that I had packed within the 50 pounds for both of my bags, but had still way over packed, and then on Friday my passport was returned to my house because not all of the visa paperwork was done correctly.

The passport and corrected paperwork were returned promptly to the British consulate with the knowledge that I would probably not be leaving with my fellow YAGMs on Wednesday, August 24.  Throughout orientation there were many hard, emotional conversations, but none of them hit me the way they struck others, purely because I had no idea when I was leaving.  I had the luxury of pushing all that “emotional stuff” till later.  Come Wednesday it was a lot harder to see everyone leave than I anticipated.  Everyone was starting off their journeys together, maybe not on the same flights, but at least on the same shuttles to the airport.

Well there wasn’t anything I could do to speed the process up.  The group that is going to Jerusalem/West Bank (ironically the other country I interviewed for at DIP), isn’t flying out until Tuesday, so the 6 of them and I were moved from the dorms we were in during orientation to a house across the street from the seminary.  It has been really nice, and there are worst places to be stuck than Chicago, might as well live it up.  Yesterday, I met my cousin in downtown Chicago, and did some site seeing.  We went to the top of the Sears Tower, or the Willis tower for those of you who like to get technical.  The view was amazing and just made me fall even more in love with the City.  We also went to the Chicago Art Institute.  Once our Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in the city was over we headed back to his house. 

That night I checked my email, and there it was, my email from the British Consulate saying that my Visa would be arriving the next business day.  At this point there was a flood of emotions that came over me.  Yay, now I get to go!  Wow, I never thought it would happen!  Dang, I’m actually leaving…for a YEAR!  At that point I realized I had to deal with everything that all my peers dealt with earlier this week.  It was a rough night of sleep considering all I could do was put together to-do lists in my head, and wonder when I’d be leaving.  It was still hazy in my mind when I woke up, and it didn’t really turn around till I was sitting in the station waiting on the train to come so I could get back to the house when I heard this man singing a song in Spanish.  He was more rapping the song then singing, but it still sounded so familiar.  He got to one point and he started to sing it English, and he said “This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.”  This familiar song that I have heard hundreds of times gave me a certain feel of peace.  It was one of those moments where it was exactly what I needed to hear.  Throughout this year I will feel fear, nervous, failure, joy, sadness, excitement and all emotions in between but everyday that I live is a day that the Lord has made, and I will rejoice and be glad in it.  I hope that you will enjoy following this journey with me and rejoice as well.

P.s. My passport arrived at my house in SC this morning and is being shipped to me here in Chicago.  I will be leaving Chicago for Manchester by way of Frankfurt, Germany (figure that one out) Monday night and will arrive Tuesday afternoon.