Mission Team Travel Update, Day 1:

(Ben Trawick writes)

The day started early as the tribe converged upon the Greensboro airport from many directions. Gordon Finley rose with the chickens to provide a moving meditation and charge for the group departing the church parking lot at 4 a.m.; his presence helped us all to feel the love of all of you folks back at “MISSION CONTROL CENTRAL.” I was also quietly taken aside by Marty Franklin who provided a note for each member of the team—to be distributed through the week. Fortified by this support and Melissa Cauthen’s Apple Strudel Muffins, we began our journey.

As soon as we arrived in Atlanta we counted noses—and came up with the proper number. We also were able to talk with Penny Musson to verify her group’s safe arrival in Dallas (Our group is so big, they couldn’t get us on one plane! The Mussons and the Ricketts are routed through Dallas and will meet us in Mexico City). As we sit at the gate, we are surrounded by other mission teams in their T-Shirts…a quick poll of our group confirmed our unanimous sense that Carolina Finley’s design is way cooler than any of the others.

I am struck at this point by the simultaneous sense of the unknown and the known: we don’t know what the week holds, what lessons await us, what people we will meet and come to know, or even precisely what work projects we will do. But we know that God is present, that the congregation loves us and is praying for us, and that good things lie in store. We all send our love and will be faithful to share news throughout the week!