"World Traveller"

One of the items I've saved to stash away in a box or book of trip mementos is a boarding stub from one of my British Air flights. Under my name, where the frequent flier number would have been (if I had been a frequently flier), was instead printed "World Traveller."

Jennifer Reisig
World Traveller

By then I was. 3 continents in 3 days. 20 hours in the air. We skimmed above Lake Victoria while I nervously glanced out the window searching for land. "No worries. I just saw shrubs," my seat-mate reassured, and moments later we were on the ground in Entebbe. Two images will forever be locked in my mind as Africa's first impression: 1) Two women with large bundles on their heads, walking along a hill-top road just beyond the airport runway fence. They seemed not to notice or care about the jumbo jet taxiing nearby. 2) An awning-covered staircase rolled up to the door of that jumbo jet, whose purpose was to lead us straight onto the tarmac, bridging the gap from one world to another.

I had arrived with few preconceived notions of what the next 13 days in Africa would bring. I was ready.

Everything a girl needs

I opened a piece of mail just now that had been laying on the counter. It was really just junk mail, so I'm not sure why I even opened it. It was from a tween magazine my daughter has received in the past through gift subscriptions. It's not a bad company, and she has enjoyed the magazine. This correspondence was an attempt to get me to renew her subscription (sorry, that's the grandparent's job if they choose to do so). One line in the letter jumped out at me as was intended. It was in bold, set apart from the other text, indented, and even used my daughter's name.

It's everything Faith needs to enjoy being a girl...
as you help prepare her for her teen years and beyond.

 Wow. I thought it took love and dedication and hard work. I thought it took teachers and friends and other caring adults. I thought it took guidance and prayer. I thought it took time and more time and even more time invested in her. But I guess all it takes is the right magazine. Thanks, American Girl, you just freed up a lot of my time...

Africa music

I called one of my friends a few days after I'd been asked to join the trip to Uganda. I told her about my opportunity and that I had no idea if I should go or not. She had no advice, no words of caution, she simply said, "I already know the first two songs I'm putting on your playlist."

Monday, 5/23/11, 5:51am local time, 35,000 feet above Africa

Music seems to have played a huge role in this trip already. I downloaded 40+ songs in preparation for the trip, Scott added more, and friends gave me Africa playlists. I received one playlist a week prior to departure, so I'd listened to it many times before leaving. In the middle of the 9 hour Dallas to London flight, I listened to the mix again and heard a line I hadn't noticed before. Straight No Chaser, covering Toto's Africa, sang, "she's coming in 12:30 flight." A quick glance at my boarding pass confirmed that we were indeed scheduled to arrive at 12:30. Then, listening to another friend's mix, I heard these amazing lyrics,
"When I arrived in my old set of clothes,
I was half a world away from home...
Darlin' do not fear what you don't really know
'cause it won't last...worries will pass,
Your troubles won't stand a chance."
I believe these are timely reminders of God's hand in every aspect of this trip, even the little things.
Another reminder happened right at the beginning of the trip early yesterday (or was it the day before? Hard to keep track of the day/time when jumping multiple time zones). Our group of 22 arrived at DIA much earlier than necessary. We learned our original flight was delayed, which would have caused a missed connection in Dallas, but instead all 22 of us were bumped together to an earlier flight to Dallas, making that a comfortable connection.
This current flight has had my nerves on edge with turbulence all night. The music of Rich Mullins and Chris Tomlin has helped, particularly the songs about following God no matter the cost. (I have been skipping any song with reference to being ready to die though...wheels not on the ground yet!)
One final thing I've noticed. My iPod doesn't usually keep a charge long, 24 hours at the most, even when off. After almost 48 hours and probably 10 hours of listening time, my battery still has half a charge.
Thank you, God, for reminders of your presence even in the little details.
After only an hour of sleep here and there, I am praying for wakefulness for today as we drive across Uganda followed by a restful night.

All consuming

2 months ago I was on my way to Africa. I have stories and pictures and blog posts trapped in journals, on hard drives and in my head. I want to get them out and share my amazing experiences, but something else has been consuming me.

There is so much else I feel like I should also be doing this summer but can't quite manage; a garden of intention left to grow weeds (both literally and figuratively).

But instead, I'm learning to parent. Remember those all consuming days after welcoming a newborn into your home? Whether the first or second or beyond, it was a time of getting to know a new person and figuring out who they are and how you fit together as a family. I feel like I'm doing that all over again as we transition into the middle school years. Our daughter is an amazing, creative, passionate person. She is strong and opinionated and moody. (Not unlike me.) We are learning how to fit together as a family again. She is more independent than she's ever been before, she's making more of her own decisions than she has before, and most days she's more moody than she's ever been before. I'm learning to be in charge without being controlling, to lighten up more on things that don't matter, and I think I'm praying more than I ever have before. And at the end of the day I'm completely drained and often emotional and still not sleeping through the night.