Weekend Before

How would you spend your weekend before a trip to a third world country? Maybe relaxing by a pool or eating all your favorite foods. My plan was to take a hot bubble bath every night, slowly and neatly pack my suitcases, relax with my husband, and spend some time with friends. But sometimes life throws you lemons and you have to decide whether to make lemon juice or lemonade.

Five days before the trip, my Grandma of 93, passed away. I had a choice to think this was a terrible thing to happen right before a mission trip or I could celebrate my Grandma's life remembering the ways she has inspired me. I really wanted to stay home the weekend before I left, but I made the choice to be with my family and celebrate my Grandma's life with them. This decision would mean I would spend the weekend traveling to Missouri, about six and a half hours from Wisconsin. I would pack all my bags within hours. Talk about stressing out. I wasn't prepared at all to leave for Africa. I spent Wednesday working, having some final meetings about the trip, and packing like crazy. All of my suitcases were to heavy but I didn't have time to decide what not to take. I kept thinking of things I needed and was just randomly throwing them in a bag or the car. You see, I didn't know if the funeral would be Saturday or Monday. If it was Monday, Jim was going to drive me straight to Chicago, so I had to be ready either way.

I felt relieved when we arrived in Missouri and found out the funeral was on Saturday. This gave me three days with my family and a chance to go back to Wisconsin and repack on Monday.

Being with my family was actually the best inspiration for my trip. In reflecting my Grandmother's life, I realized the deep roots of where my character comes from.
As I was giving up my weekend of hot bubble baths and relaxation, I realized that there can be inspiration even in the midst of a loss. I once heard that you shouldn't allow a crisis to steal your joy or keep you from pressing forward. So even though I love and will miss my Grandma, I am heading into this trip with a positive spirit!