Eve of the departure

All our bags are packed, and we're ready to go! Our big old blue van is stuffed to the gills with all the essentials (and probably quite a bit of non-essentials) for a three-week road trip. As I've gathered what I think I'll need for a year in Denver, the advice from the CVV directors has stuck with me: "As you pack, exercise discernment in what you bring. Let this year be a year of challenge. If you don't have something, it will be an opportunity for someone else to share with you." Have I packed according to these guidelines? I hope so. How do you know what to take and what to leave behind for a year away from home?

Several songs have been echoing through my mind: Somewhat predictably, John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High" is one of them. If I may have the liberty to do so, I'd like to change the words a bit, because I find my version quite fitting for the year to come - "She was born in the summer of her 22nd year / coming home to a place she'd never been before / She left yesterday behind her / you might say she was born again / You might say she found the key to every door."

I'm not sure of the author of the other song, but it is compelling and comforting all at once: "You will cross the burning deserts and you shall not die of thirst / You will wander far in safety though you do not know the way / You will share my word in foreign lands and all will understand / You shall see the face of God and live / Be not afraid! I go before you always / Come, follow me, and I will lead you home." May that be my mantra, may that be everyone's mantra - be not afraid! The same God who creates, completes his creation in tender and surprising ways.

I heartily ask for your prayers for our journey!!! We pull out at 6 AM tomorrow and, as Dad would say, "Lord willing and the creek don't rise!" we will arrive in Gatlinburg, Tennessee sometime after sunset. I hope to keep you posted, as internet is available. Until then, may the peace of Christ be with you.