Spring Break is right around the corner. Tomorrow, eight students and I will travel to Red Bird Mission in Beverly, Kentucky. I am particularly excited because Red Bird Mission was my first work trip when I was but a freshman in college twenty some years ago. I have a picture on my desk from that trip. I am sitting next to Dr. H, my first college chaplain. (I am working on it feeling more natural to call him "Don" -- it's a little easier each time I see him, which is not nearly often enough.) His arm is around me. Tears are in my eyes. My grandma had died at most a week before. And, I was also working on getting strep throat and a raging ear infection. Good times.
It really was a good time, though. I grew up standing in the church parking lot waving good bye as my mom drove off with the youth group year after year. Then, it was my turn. It opened my eyes to an entirely different culture, no passport needed. It opened my heart to the beauty of generosity. It opened my mind to the complexity of issues of social justice.
There are many practical considerations which must go into such a trip. All of the proper paperwork must be filed with the college. Fundraising fundraising fundraising... Eighty some "Live United" bracelets made and sold for donations, six batches of Chaplain Brown's brownies (I am told things got a little ugly when they ran out... students chasing them down with a fistful of quarters..."Gimme another brownie! Whatdya mean they're gone?") Medical release forms and emergency contacts gathered. Work gloves, safety glasses, flashlights... Extra whatever it is someone might forget... And then there's the getting there. We will meet at the train station in Wilmington DE, take a train to Washington DC, take a bus to Knoxville TN and then rent a van to drive to Beverly KY. It's either a well oiled machine, or organized chaos.
A stark contrast to the way the Israelites traveled in the passage from Numbers. Moving when the cloud lifted from the tabernacle... stopping as it came to a stop... truly a spirit led itinerary. I find it hard to wrap my head around such a prospect. Why is it that we find it easier to rely upon timetables and schedules and never ending 'to do' lists than upon our faith in God?
I am going to endeavor to continue to have postings up next week. They won't be linked through Facebook, though.
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