LEAVING ON A JET LAG, DON'T KNOW WHEN I WILL SLEEP AGAIN

DAY 1: October 2^nd, 2011

New Delhi Airport 6:15 AM Local Time

(Actually it is now day 3; I left on September 30^th, flew right through October 1^st, and here it is already the 2^nd and 24 hours have barely passed since I lifted off from Newark, NJ)

I am feeling groggy after a full day of traveling, and I still have not reached my final destination, Kathmandu. My flight boards in over 5 hours and I have been sleeping on and off on a seat by a window off to the side and sort of hidden, here at the airport. I like this spot. I knew I had a full night to spend here so I looked into hotels connected to the airport, but they were all expensive. I could have gotten WiFi, a shower, and a bed for 5 hours at the rate of about 85 USD! No thanks, I'll stick it out in the main airport lounge and save my money. The Delhi airport is nice, I think; clean and professional and warm and inviting as well. Although I saw a mosquito at one point in the night flying around me...I pray I don't get malaria! I think I'll be okay. The sun is coming up now.

As I look out the window, I see all kinds of nifty looking airport trucks passing by. I remember as a small child I would dream about having a job where I drive around cool big trucks like that. Wait a second, maybe I still dream of that!

This is the second time traveling internationally by myself. I was in a place like this before though, many moons ago when I traveled to Sri Lanka, with my old college friend Naomi. It is always better when you can travel with a friend. That was 5 months after the tsunami that occurred in late 2004. I remember viewing that whole trip as being literally an act of God's provision. I stepped out into the unknown, with my “cause” and He provided.

I still believe that, but this time around so far it seems something more like clockwork. I don't mean that in a negative sense necessarily. It's just that before, 6 years ago when I was younger, everything seemed newer and bigger. I am sure that will change once I get to Nepal. I will be as wide-eyed as ever, and I will have to trust in God's Provision and Grace to get me through the next 2 or 3 months, and back home by Christmas.

I suppose I am a little older now, and the older you get, the more you get used to a certain way of living. Things are not as new as they once were. You start to think less about relying on God, and more about relying on yourself. This is not a horrible thing per se, as God has given us our bodies and minds to think us through situations we find ourselves in. But let me not forget that Spirit, which is closer to me than the air I breathe (this is a good thing because I have been getting whiffs of trash at my airport spot every now and again).

Seriously though, I was thinking that life is about stretching yourself to explore new places, new people, new ways of thinking. This is not for the sake of a feeling of purpose necessarily, and also not to test your God (yeah right, as if that was even possible!), but as you grow things get “old,” as it were. We were meant to continue this exploration with God, be it by traveling to another country, buying a house, getting married, having a child.

Truth is I don't know all that much. These are only my thoughts at the moment, and I will probably be getting more philosophical down the road. Maybe my thoughts will change. They probably will. I am going into this as wide-eyed as possible. I am traveling now, to Nepal, expecting the unexpected. I pray for God's Spirit to walk ahead of me, and to prepare my steps.