Fourteen days or, as they would say in days of old (or perhaps “olde”) — a fortnight. That’s how long until Aaron, Betty, Dan, Allison, Robyn, Malcolm, and I leave for Rwanda. Despite all of our hard work, it doesn’t seem real that the trip is that close.
The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali
In fact, it’s almost surreal. Surrealism is a genre of art where things take on dream-like qualities and often appear out of order and beyond their natural element. We have a little of that going on with this peace mission.
For months, all of us have been dealing with the concept of going to Africa . . . some day. At some point in the future, this will happen. And now, that some day, that point of time, is just 2 weeks away.
A lot will happen over the next 2 weeks. The other part of our lives will continue. We will go to work. We will do household chores. We will shop for groceries. We will go to the gym and exercise. Okay, some of us will go to the gym and exercise. Despite the fact that this really important journey lies just ahead of us, we will keep living our lives.
In talking with my teammates, I know that most have wished that life could just be put on hold. For 14 days, could the phone stop ringing, could the grass quit growing, could the world quit spinning? The focus of the last six months is looming. It’s more than looming, It’s leaning over and crowding out almost everything else.
Except it can’t. And we won’t allow it.
In a fortnight we will be on our way. But between now and then we’ll meet our obligations. We’ll relish every moment with family and friends. We will live the lives we already have. Why? Because this trip, this peace mission to Rwanda and Kenya, is now a part of us. Our adventure doesn’t start in 14 days. It began the moment God placed on our hearts the desire to share peace with others. Our experience in Africa will live on with us and shape us forever.