In only five short hours

I'll be on a plane to Detroit, on the first step of my trip. The anxiety of preparing finally got to me today, but I've managed to wrench myself away from it. It helped that a chubby little asian baby grinned at me at the Target checkout line this afternoon.

I have everything I need (I think), I'm almost all packed, and I just need to tie up some loose ends before I'm completely ready to go. I'm not as prepared as I could be (or at least I don't feel like it), but regardless of how I feel, it's soothing to know without a shadow of a doubt that I'm absolutely supposed to go on this trip.

Flight's in five hours, then leaving Sunday morning for the big leagues. Let's do this thing!


-Gordon

Tomorrow's the big day (almost)

Tomorrow night about 11:15 will be when I fly out to meet my team and begin training for the trip! I'm not sure if I'm ready for it yet, since I found out two days ago that I would be playing guitar and helping lead music for our group. That ended up being much more prep work than I expected, since I'm not the best guitar player that's ever lived and I haven't practiced in a little while. I'm super excited about it, though.

The whole thing still feels a little surreal-- that in two days, I'll be in a completely different culture for a month and a half with about 20 people I just met, studying a language and culture that's completely unfamiliar to me. I have no doubt that it's going to be completely amazing and life-changing, though. That's not what I'm preoccupied with. I just want to be as prepared as I can be.

Also, since I'm sure it's going to be frustrating not having any specifics, feel free to ask me for them AFTER the trip is over. However, if you want a more direct way of communicating with me during this trip, this is the email I'm going to be using:  gordon.samuel.lee@gmail.com. 

If you do send me emails, please be mindful of what you say in them. I will be in a country that has a fairly restrictive and watchful government, so do not use any sort of religious language or sentiment. If you have to ask yourself if it's ok, it's probably not wise to include. Feel like you're being too vague. On the flip side, I'd love to hear from you, whoever you are, and encouragement of any sort would be greatly appreciated.

With all my love,

-Gordon

T-minus 3 and counting...

Hey everyone! First of all, thanks for taking the time to read this, it means a lot to me. I am excited about this trip like I've never been excited before. I might have told some of you this already, but it feels like the rush you get while sitting at the front of a roller coaster right before it crests over that first big hill. You can see it coming and you get that huge rush, but it hasn't yet started hurtling forward. Right now feels like that one still, breathless moment.

This fundraising process has been absolutely incredible. Thank you to everyone who's contributed in any way, this outpouring of support has seriously changed the way I think about my Father, and it's been refreshing beyond words. 

Now, to the main point of this blog: this will be a record of my time and experiences while I'm away. Because I won't have regular access to the internet, this will be updated about every week to two weeks. I'm in the process of setting up some sort of email list to let you know when I've updated, but don't expect daily posts. 

A couple notes before I sign off. Since I will be in East Asia for a while, I will almost never post specifics about anything. I promise, this isn't to frustrate you. This is for security's sake, for my sake, the students and staff who are going, the workers already there, and for the sake of those who we will meet. 

I'm so psyched, you guys. 

Grace and peace be with you all,

-Gordon