Adventure is Out There Pt. 1

Wow, where do I start? I have been gone for almost two weeks now. My adventure began in the early morning “light” of 5 am September 1st. My family groggily waved me goodbye as my dad and I headed towards downtown Dallas and the first of many airports on my trip to Skopje. Once we got there, my dad was allowed to come through security with me (thank you nice ticket lady!) and we had breakfast together one last time (chick-fil-a chicken minis, what else?). My dad was also able to get hold of my brother William all the way in China, so I got a nice proper goodbye from him too. Finally, it was time! As I walked down the jetway away from my family and my hometown, I was holding back tears, but excited about all the prospects my first big solo journey would hold. After an uneventful flight to Atlanta, I followed the signs to baggage claim and pulled my cumbersome duffle off the conveyor (I may or may not have overpacked…). Now it was time to get to the meeting spot and find my team. After a minute or two of confused wandering and a couple of texts later, I met three of the girls on my team and they showed me the way to the pickup spot. Since we were not the only team being launched this fall, I was greeted by a large circle of people talking. It was so fun to get to meet all the different teams and hear about where they were going. After a few hours of hanging out and getting acquainted, it was finally time for us to get picked up and go to Gainesville for training camp.

After dragging my things to the trailer and getting them safely in, fourteen of us (about half) piled into the car and left the others to wait for the next van. During the hour and a half drive, I took a nap and got to know the girls better. When we arrived we emptied the trailer and lugged our packs down the hill to where we would be staying for the next four days. At dinner, we had the whole team together for the first time. It was a real joy to sit down to a delicious meal (seriously, the AIM cook staff really know their stuff) and bond with my new family in person. The next days gave us new ways to bond such as rationing meals for each other (much more awkward than it sounds) and bucket showers (they were cold!). We also experienced truly amazing worship and received so much wisdom from the speakers AIM brought in to teach us. Feeling equipped we were ready for the about 36 hours of airport/travel time to reach our ministry site. At 5 am (again…) we woke up to pack, clean, and eat before a long stay at the Atlanta airport.

We arrived at approximately 10:15 am for a flight at 10:30 pm because of the logistics of all the teams launching the same day. We passed the time reading, watching netflix, talking, and calling home over data for the last time. We also had the opportunity to worship together with a piano there and a guitar someone had brought. After about eight hours in the Atlanta airport atrium, we packed up all our stuff and headed to the international area and checked in. We then found our gate and ate some dinner. When they called our boarding group we hopped in line and then settled in for an 11-hour flight to Istanbul, Turkey. After a couple of movies and an in-flight meal, I got the best sleep I could for being on a plane and suddenly we were descending. The realization that I was thousands of miles from home and on an entirely new continent hit me. “I’m so excited” and “This was a terrible decision” flashed alternately in my mind as we walked off the plane. Here we parted ways with the team going to Africa who had shared the flight with us. Walking into the Istanbul airport was one of the most overwhelming experiences of my life. I was tired, the crowd was dense, and in some areas it felt more like a mall than an airport… Even though we only had about two hours, I was determined to try something Turkish and thought ice cream was the perfect choice. I’ll admit I didn’t like it as much as American ice cream, but it was pretty delicious. Then it was time for our flight to Bulgaria and I got to experience something I have always wanted to, boarding the plane from the tarmac. It’s such a small, silly thing, but it brought a smile to my face. I was also pleasantly surprised by a warm dinner served in flight despite the fact that it was a short flight. So, we had made it to Sofia and had completed all the flight legs of this journey. We went through customs (shortest, easiest customs experience ever) and got Bulgaria stamps in our passports. This was really happening! Then we grabbed our luggage and met the very nice van driver who was driving us to the Skopje airport. I spent the 3-hour drive talking to my team leader and marveling at the Bulgarian countryside (or what little we could see in the moonlight). We also got Macedonia stamps when we passed through the border checkpoint, which is a kind of souvenir for me. After getting dropped off at the Skopje airport, we exchanged currency and bought tickets for the 1 am bus to a nearby hotel where we would be picked up by our local ministry host. There was a little excitement when our ride was later than expected and we almost had to stay in a hotel for the night, but it all worked out and we arrived at the community center that we will call our home for the next three months at about 3 am.

We then had mandatory team time for about an hour (thanks AIM?) and went to bed. Thankfully the next day we were allowed to sleep in and recoup. We met our hosts properly and got a rundown of what our work would look like here along with some cultural information and housekeeping rules. The next day, Friday September 8th, was Macedonian independence day, so we had the day off. We used it to explore the city and try out some local coffee shops and gelato stands (both are literally on every corner). Saturday is our normal day off, so we also used this day to adjust (the jet lag was real), explore, and get to know the people we will be working with. There is one young man named Dori who is currently staying at the center with us who does not speak english, but through google translate and some fun board games, we have been able to build a relationship with him. On Sunday we had our first day of ministry at the church plant that meets in the center. We were able to help lead in worship and share some of our testimonies. Monday and Tuesday were full ministry days where we served the community center by helping with english lessons and also did outreach at the local universities to increase the number of people who know about and frequent the center. I am excited to grow in community with those already involved in the ministry and those we will hopefully see join while we are here. I would love prayers for the team to continue to get along and that the work we do in the community would be fruitful. Blessings, Lillian Storm