Newark (EWR) to London (LHR)
09/05/11
9:20 PM - 9:25 AM+1 day
Virgin Atlantic 2
London (LHR) to Nairobi (Jomo Kenyatta Intl.)
09/06/11
9:00 PM - 7:50 AM+1 day
Virgin Atlantic 671
Nairobi (Jomo Kenyatta Intl.) to London (LHR)
01/05/12
12:50 PM - 7:05 PM
Virgin Atlantic 672
London (LHR) to Newark (EWR)
01/05/12
8:10 PM - 11:25 PM
Virgin Atlantic 17
It's official now. I'm definitely going to Kenya in September. I booked a flight last night. I fly out of Newark, NJ on Sept. 5th, fly through London and into Nairobi on Sept. 7th. I make the same flight back on Jan. 5th.
Over the past couple of weeks I have been reminded a few times that I really need to get a flight soon. Yet I was putting it off. First my reason was that the interns were not all selected yet which meant that dates weren't set (I'm meeting the team of interns in Nairobi and traveling to Kitale with them). So that enabled me to put off a flight. Earlier this week a message was put up on Facebook that we will all be in Kenya in about 5 weeks. That got me a bit! WOW! Saturday night my dad took me to a baseball game. On the car ride he asked if I had a ticket yet. He also reminded me that I need to do it soon before prices go up.
This week I decided to get a bit more serious about it. I needed to stop with excuses. A big one lately has been time. I've been busy at camp! And I only have internet down at the office which is about a half mile from where most camp activities happen. Still though, I have been in the office every day to do other work. Yesterday morning I put aside my other work and looked for a flight hoping to find one I could afford. I found one on Virgin Atlantic Airlines for $1274, including tax! AMAZING! That's even cheaper than my last flight in October. I didn't book it. My wallet was up at the other end of camp. Everyone in the office told me to go get my wallet and book it before it's gone. I didn't. I saved the trip itinerary and went back to work. It was on my mind most of the day.
I started asking why I was so afraid to book the flight. One reason took the top reason: Things would be real when I book the flight. There is no turning back anymore. I'm not having second thoughts at all. But still I was held captive by this fear. This summer I have fallen back in love with camp. I love being here and have been pouring myself out into this ministry. I thought I could come into it with an attitude that this is a summer thing and I'm out. I feel differently though. I've treated this summer as so much more. I've grown more passionate about this place. Booking a flight means that this summer is going to end. And I don't know when I will be back here again.
Another reason for fear was finances. I'm still about $1300 shy of what I need to raise. Booking a flight means trusting that those funds will come in. That's a hard area to trust in sometimes.
As I thought about these fears last night and prayed over the situation it became clear what to do. I needed to declare a victory over my fear and book the flight. We had two campfires last night with staff speaking. Once they finished I snuck away, took a shower and decided not to wait any more. I got my laptop and walked the half mile to the office in the dark. My thought was that if the flight was still open I'd book it. It took me about three tries to confirm the flight because I kept forgetting to fill in some of the boxes. But I finally did it. A few moments later the e-ticket confirmation was sitting in my email box.
So there it is. This trip is real now. I'm going to Kenya for 4 months. What happens after January is still a mystery. I don't know. I may not know until January. But I'm letting go of the fear. I'm trusting that funds will be there when they need to be. I'm trusting that things will work out. I'm trusting. I'm not trusting in myself either. I'm trusting in God the Father. The One who has my best interest in mind. The One who will take care of me. The One who always has.
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