24 hours - and counting

"ROAD TRIP"

Words that, for many of us ‘of a certain age’, conjure up strong, sometimes contradictory, images – of mind and butt numbingly, hot hours trapped between barely tolerated siblings in a back seat (that they were ‘hogging’ by the way) and sporadic, and ultimately futile, parental attempts to interest said sib group in license plate bingo, “EYE Spy” or choruses of repetitive chants about alcoholic beverages – oh wait, maybe that was just me.

By contrast,you were probably blessed with memories of barreling down the turnpike with windows wide open – better yet the ‘tailgate’- legs swinging dangerously inches above hot asphalt or feet sticking out the window, the summer wind rushing through your hair (or toes), the smell of pines and sea air filling the car while visions of sandy beaches and freedom on an island filled your head – oh wait, that was me too.

Whatever your associations are with long trips confined in moving spaces, it definitely colors your willingness to get into a 15 passenger van with relative strangers (some stranger than others!), traveling 12-18 hours (depending on weather, number of rest stops and summer road construction) across 800 miles while going deeper into the interior of America.

Frankly, I’m always amazed when we set the departure date and time for Mission trip, the date arrives – and people actually show up!

‘Veterans’ of our trip will tell you that we’ve been asked why we don’t fly and why we travel together instead of just “meeting up” on site, allowing everyone to get there on their own. Both valid questions and the Steering Committee has heard, and considered, multiple viewpoints.

The long and the short of it is that we don’t go on Mission trip as a mere collection of individuals; we go as representatives of communities of faith.

We go to actually live and build community, specifically the kingdom of God (although most of the time that feels presumptuous, way too lofty – and maybe dangerous - to fully grasp); time in the van gives us the privilege of starting the process of community building, amongst ourselves, before we ever leave town.

All the negotiations about space, use of time, control of the CD/radio, where to eat meals, what pieces of self information to share, when and with whom, become building blocks through which we create a cohesive group. Trust, relationships and sustainable working communities all take time; there are no short cuts. We need to take advantage of every moment we’re given.

Our experience has been that, from the moment of arrival in Rosebud, we hit the ground running. “Van time” allows us to switch gears - from our ‘regular ‘lives and routines to a ‘time set apart”; to transition to another geography and different ways of looking at ourselves, the world and our rightful place in it.

And, oddly enough, getting to know fellow travelers on the journey turns out to be WAY more fun than car bingo!