Ninety Degrees by 8am

"Welcome to the change process"

Flying in a plane, looking over Phoenix, it still didn't hit me that this whole thing was really happening. After talking to an flirtaceous, insistent Zimbabwean man who talked to me the whole plane ride, it felt good to focus on my luggage and this whole crazy adventure.

I walked into the hotel lobby, laden with all my packed-up-life, and spotted Elizabeth first! Yes! Haha, Elizabeth was the overwhelming World Vision Intern/Relay Marathon/Ex-dread wearer who I kinda sorta facebook stalked over the summer with the other members. I went in for a hug, actually, but when she stuck out her hand, I readjusted quickly, ahahaha. Oh. Hands; right-right. Upstaris, they put us in swank digs, and around noon, the bulk of the kids sauntered down to the lobby to be carted over to Orientation at Food For the Hungry Headquarters. I recognized them all from the pictures I posted on here. Oop, there's Allison, and Kyle, and Rachel, and Rebecca, and Katie.

Headquarters is beautiful with color photography of national everywhere. In the conference room, everything was laid out for us, food, snacks, water, lunch, folders, pens.

As I listened to the speakers, I began to feel the weight of what I'm doing.
If I'm going to walk with God, that has to be my posture toward humanity as well.
Poverty is not an object.
It is me.
I am not outside of it, doing "good to others". I'm in it. Everyone is in it.
Geography is merely relative.

We talked about God's grace, and Food For the Hungry's mission and vision, and I began to feel emotionally overwhelmed. I caught myself tearing up during one of the lectures, actually. *sigh* Insufferable.
This is going to be beautiful, I thought. We leave in 3 hours for our plane journey. To Africa.

I didn't realize it before but I'm feeling it now. This is going to change my whole world.