away we go!

1 hour and 27 minutes before the team is meeting on campus in the Ross/Bauman parking lot.

Then to PDX for tickets and checking luggage.
Through security to the terminal.
Wait.
Flight to LA at 5pm.
Dinner in LAX.
14 hour flight to Brisbane.
Customs at some point.
Day in Australia: koalas? Beach?
Overnight at host homes.
Flight to Port Moresby.

And we're there.

Officially, we'll arrive in Papua New Guinea on the 7th of May, which will technically be the 6th here since we'll flight right over Cinco de Mayo. We'll be 6 hours ahead, in terms of jet lag. The wall of humidity (currently at 95% in Port Moresby) will knock us on our backs as we step off the plane; the bugs will be big, the air hot, the language unfamiliar, and the faces much tanner than our own.

I can't believe today is the day. I'm still not prepared, I'm not ready, I didn't do any research, I didn't read enough, I didn't study the language or the culture. I need more time. And yet, me being who I am, I always need more time. I never feel prepared. So the thing to do is go.

Go fast, go far, go strong. Be brave. Eyes wide, heart wider, and mouth closed so that ears can open. Step out with faith and love, smiles and laughter, and kindness that needs no words but instead shines.

I'm super scared. I had trouble falling asleep; I woke up far too early this morning. Stephen, Jessie, and I have been racing around Newberg, getting snacks, sending letters, making copies. The apartment is clean for our return; leftovers are out on the table for lunch. Bags are packed, mine clocking in at a light 38 pounds. We're all set to go. Except that I'm scared.

We're supposed to bring our patience along, said Rhett. We're supposed to hold our plans loosely. We're supposed to take things as they come. I'm not good at any of those things. And I have no idea what to expect, except at some point apparently some body painting and (topless) tribal dancing around a fire until daybreak.

I'm oh-so-afraid, but I know this will be the biggest adventure of my life thus far. I don't put myself out there very often, but I have no choice now. I'm leaving in 1 hour and 17 minutes, and I'm not coming back the same woman. I'm hopeful of that.

I know God has prepared this for me. Know why?
Because I got the Richters Grant and I didn't have to pay for this trip.
Because my job to do is what I love best: write.
Because three of my closest friends will be with me.
Because there are missionaries from Grace Baptist in Calgary that are in PNG right nowwhich my mom found out the week after I got the grant.
Because I got Chacos for $35.
Because I got to write a script for our team.
Because I have people praying for me.
Because my mother emailed me and told me that she is proud of me, and to go and blossom into more of who I was created to be.
Because Jon Acuff wrote about God not needing me.
Because Pastor John's sermon yesterday was about living in God's peace through prayer and release, no matter what comes my way.
Because Omi sent me $150 for everything I needed.

Because the Kelm family verse this year is Jesus' words in Mark 6:50, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."

I do not need to be afraid. Because this trip, this is Jesus. Jesus will be in every face I see, every experience I have. Because Jesus is present, with me, alongside of me, within me, throughout me, and covering me, I do not have to be afraid. And I will take the courage of my Saviour as I go, and write, and cry, and laugh, and sweat, and sleep, and sing, and walk, and learn, and grow, and change.

Pray me there, my dear and loving friends. Pray me home. And pray for transformation and safety along the way.

PNG, here I come.
(PAPUA NEW GUINEA, HERE I COME!)

1 hour and 4 minutes. Ready or not, here I go!