Day 1

I write this from a rather bland terminal at the Port Columbus International Airport, heart racing, eyes heavy (I got so little sleep last night). Let me describe what’s around me:

To my left is my sweet grandmother, accompanying me to London. She’s playing a word game where she unscrambles letters to make new words. So far she’s turned “Tacue” into “Acute” and “Kroob” into “Brook”. To my left is The Great American Bagel Bakery, whose wood paneling throws a touch of warmth into this long, gray room. Across from me is a young Asian man who has shoulder length blonde hair, so that’s interesting. A few seats down from him is an athletic young woman trying to read a book, but can’t, because an adorable Indian man is asking her questions about every aspect of her entire life. To my right is a wall of windows, our boarding gate beyond it. A few businessmen look dapper on their bluetooth headsets and sweater-vests. I’m so out of my league here, people.

I’m feeling excited, anxious, hurried and lagging. It’s all pretty confusing. But it’s good, and I know Jesus lies ahead and beside and behind and all over, and I’m thankful for that. I really can’t believe it. I’m leaving the continent! I’ll arrive in London around 6:00am Ohio time (11:00 am local time) and my adventure begins immediately. I’m nervous about being too tired to enjoy anything, but that’s not the worst that could happen, so it’s okay.

Here we go!