Travels: at the HQ

Orientation: usually that word makes me cringe a little. and also fill my heart with a little bit of dread. it usually means an Attitude Adjustment. 

So as I spent hours being distracted from packing and saying goodbye to people and somehow miraculously ending up with packed bags, I had a little nagging dread about the 3 days of orientation I was to spend in Charlotte.

silly me. 

I could not have been more encouraged and challenged and blessed. While most of the topics that we covered were pretty basic,  it was the time with  the staff at SIM  where they shared their hearts and passion and experiences with us that challenged me the most. SIM's motto is "by prayer," and I was able to witness first hand how they lived it out. I ended with a lot of things to think about and evaluate in my life and for the future. It was time well spent.

Our (as  me and the other STA, Jenny) second night at orientation, our splendid coordinators took us to a little hole in the wall authentic Ethiopian food place. Let's just say that I was definitely not suffering from lack of food. a.mazing. and, I don't mind a legit excuse to eat with my hands :)   

Saturday found me all by my lonesome. The host, Stuart was kind enough to let me tag along to the airport to bid Jenny goodbye and then he dropped me off at the Billy Graham Library (aka museum thing). Other than the tour starting with a talking cow, and 90% of the people in the building not being anywhere under 60, they did a pretty  top notch job on design and displays. There were a lot of interactive rooms and nothing was shoddy. For being free, I'd say it exceeded expectations. Besides that, it had a nice little deli. also. the bathroom felt like you were going into a livestock stall. kinda awkward. but at least there was no hay. also. it helped burn a couple of hours from my otherwise empty day.

I was talking to Adopted Dad about lattes and coffee cake, so of course (after being stuck with Folgers for 5 days) I went and spent bonding time with 5bucks -er, Starbucks, while getting much needed time to gather thoughts and compose letters and discuss Life with  the brother. Charlotte finally decided to be cloudy and chilly, so it was the perfect hoody environment . One last  fall day before it's back to summer!

Now I am trying to decide how best to keep myself entertained in the airport for another 5 hours before my plane leaves. After that, it's keeping myself entertained for another 17 hours before the plane finally lands in Joburg. Holla!

catch you on the flip side. :)