Far, far away

August 11 has always been very far away, an intangible christening of my student missionary experience. Far, far away; like happily ever after. You know that happily ever after that just happens, but it's never experienced? The one that whisks away the knight and maiden into the sunset and everything is perfect? Yep, that one. The same type of adventure that steals away student missionaries, keeps them for a year, and returns them as the new and improved "them". The happily ever after that poses a time-space conundrum: the year that didn't exist. Those friends were just not around, and they were given some cool stories and photos to make it seem as though they were living life, not just escaping it for a few months. Yep. Far, far, far away, in a place that you'll never actually be, in a year that you'll never actually live.

T-minus 16 hours until take-off to far, far away.

I was pretty sure this day would never come. Well, I knew that August 11 day would come, but not "British Airways Flight Number 65 is now boarding, with service to Nairobi, Kenya" day. Not "See you later, sister! I mean, see you in a while..." day. Not one-of-my-four-bags-weighs-70-lbs. day. Nope. This day was a distant thought that grew and faded and died and was resurrected and blew in the wind and changed shape and direction and feeling and finally settled on August 11. And thoughts like these rarely become living experiences.

Nine, ten, eleven...It's August 10. August 11 comes next. That's all I know. I don't know what else to expect. But the best of adventures are the ones that surprise you. Woooohooooo!! I'm about to have the best adventure; care to join me? :D