Excitement and other emotions

He asked me if I was excited. We were on the way to the airport in a sleepy haze. That's hoe it goes with 5:30 am flights. It's an easy enough question and the answer should be obvious. Sure, I'm excited. But it's hidden under layers of other thoughts and emotions. I guess sometimes it's not hat simple. 

He truth is that I'm feeling exhausted and overwhelmed by the busy blur that has been the last few weeks or maybe months. I need a slow down and am hopeful that this time away will transition me into a bit of a slower season. Of course, slowness requires hard choices. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

I'm feeling nervous. Anxious. I land in Honduras alone to meet a team of strangers. Sure, we will likely bond and even become friends. But first, here are nerves. 

I'm feeling proud. My fundraising efforts went well. I had a productive week. I am successfully packed in my great new carry-on (with a personal item, of course). I'm stepping out do my comfort zone and into a setting for service. 

I'm feeling hopeful and expectant. This experience will probably have challenges. Even though it is short. It will most likely present opportunities for reflection. I hope it leads to more growth. My trip to Africa did in ways that exceeded my expectations. I'm hopeful for that in Honduras. 

I struggled to answer his question with a certain confidence that would convince a person of anything. I had very little sleep after all and so many other thoughts and feelings flooding my mind. 

But yes, I'm excited. And that feeling will only grow. Especially after a nap on the plane. And coffee...

Faith and expectations... Excitement for Honduras

"If I were asked to name the chief benefit of the house, I should say: the house shelters day-dreaming, the house protects the dreamer, the house allows one to dream in peace." ~Gaston Bachelard
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Several months ago I was really longing for an international service trip when I remembered having a conversation with a man at my old job in Grand Rapids about Habitat for humanity trips. I filled out the online application but then sort of forgot about it until I was contacted for a trip to Honduras.

Instantly, I knew I had to go!

So now I'm in the midst of fundraising and thinking about the logistics of the trip... What will I pack? What will the team be like? What will Honduras and the people there be like? What will the work be like?

There are a lot of uncertainties and it feels like a leap of faith. Sure, it's a short trip so the risk is relatively small but my expectations are certainly not. And my excitement is growing... I cannot wait!

I've been thinking about this trip a lot lately and about the people we will potentially help. We will be working on a renovation project so I anticipate some potentially dirty projects! But how exciting!

I have always been blessed to have great places to live...Shelter. Safety. A place to call my own. It is no small thing to have a home and I would argue its a big step in enabling people to take steps towards their potential.

Click through the following links to read about families that have been impacted and helped by Habitat for Humanity... Touching stories from the United States as well as far away countries.

Your environment is who you are
Stories in the US
A home for a widow


Also, check out my fundraising page to see a link to some of the specific families we will be helping:

Leanne's Habitat Honduras page

If you feel so inclined, please consider donating by September 11.... all funds that our team raises will contribute to the mission of Habitat Honduras and help increase their impact even after we leave the country.  Any contribution is very much appreciated. 

On a mission.... Honduras-bound

I've decided to go to Honduras with Habitat for Humanity!  I cannot wait!  Seriously, I'm so excited!

It is a one week trip and our team travels to Honduras on October 26, returning on November 3.  I don't know any of the volunteers and cannot wait to meet them.

As a part of this trip, each member of our team commits to fundraising.  Below you will find a link to my fundraising page. On that page, click on the 'Read more' link to learn more about the renovation project in Honduras.  If you feel so inclined, please consider donating by September 11.... all funds that our team raises will contribute to the mission of Habitat Honduras and help increase their impact even after we leave the country.  Any contribution is very much appreciated.  

Leanne's Habitat Honduras page

A few more details about the funds we raise...

The donations we bring with us fund projects like smokeless stoves, polished concrete floors, latrines, and structural reinforcements.  An average renovation in Honduras costs $1000-$1500, cheaper than if we were working on new home construction.  This means our funds can go even further and serve a greater number of families in the area!  Our donations stay with Habitat Honduras long after our team leaves, which makes this program sustainable on our own.  This is an important distinction from many short-term mission trips!

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One of the reasons that I am so excited to go to Honduras is because I had such a phenomenal time in Africa.  Two years ago I traveled with a team of volunteers to Rwanda, Africa.  It was also a service trip... we built and installed point-of-use water filters in areas where they have little or no access to clean water.  It was amazing to witness how people changed their lives after they had access to clean water.

I know that new homes will do the same for people in Honduras.  I look forward to witnessing the same thing in Honduras!

Another amazing aspect of the trip to Africa was the friendships that I formed with our team of volunteers.  I was fortunate to travel with an incredible group of people and forged some lifelong friendships with others on my team.

I am sure that strong bonds will form in our team of volunteers.  I cannot wait to meet the team I will work with in Honduras!

In Africa, I fell in love with the people.  They had such a humble and gracious presence.  And they had an incredibly intense joy and sense of gratitude!  It was so refreshing to experience and observe the Rwandan people.  To see their love of life, observe their joy and gratitude, and really connect with them...  It was a true blessing in my life.  The experience was such a profound reminder that we are all so similar.  Citizens of this planet.  I think of them often and am constantly inspired.

I am so excited to meet the people of Honduras!

As I prepare for my trip, I'll post updates here.  I've got to figure out how to pack one small carry-on bag and nothing else!  Yikes!  Sure, it's only nine days... but packing lightly is not one of my gifts.  :)  I think I'll also be able to post while on the trip.

I'm so excited!

I'm on a mission... Habitat Honduras.

Airports and humanity

Airports blow my mind.

This weekend I flew to a family wedding. When I lived in Texas, I flew all the time but now I don't really fly so often. When I was flying often, it was generally between Texas and St. Louis right after college and early in graduate school and the trips began and ended with intense emotion. I mean, intense. I cried in airports... Ran towards people with the greatest anticipation... Shrieked in joy... Intense. All of that expression and I never gave a second thought to who saw me, what I looked like, none of it. I was in the moment and simply overcome with the emotion that accompanied the hello or the goodbye.

These days my time in airports always seems a little more even-keeled, less emotional. Life is quite different than it was then. Even so, I always think of those times when I am in an airport... I don't know why but i just can't keep those thoughts and memories from resurfacing.

Have you ever looked around an airport though? Like really looked? I think it offers a glimpse of humanity. I think it reveals how similar we all can be.

On this trip, I've seen people crying and I can't help but wonder why their goodbye was so difficult, enough to evoke tears. I've been there, I remember. And then there are people who are ecstatic, emitting pure joy. I've been there too. I've overheard conversations that are deeply personal. And human. And I remember making personal calls in an airport because the timing was right to share something with someone close to me... It didn't matter if I was in an airport or in my own home. And of course, if you spend enough time in an airport, you'll see people extremely stressed out, desperate to know if they will get through security, make their flight, get their baggage back. It can have a way of bring out the worst in people.

It seems useful to open your eyes and see that we are really not so different. After all, haven't we all sprinted through the airport in a desperate attempt to catch our connecting flight?

Airports and humanity

Airports blow my mind.

This weekend I flew to a family wedding. When I lived in Texas, I flew all the time but now I don't really fly so often. When I was flying often, it was generally between Texas and St. Louis right after college and early in graduate school and the trips began and ended with intense emotion. I mean, intense. I cried in airports... Ran towards people with the greatest anticipation... Shrieked in joy... Intense. All of that expression and I never gave a second thought to who saw me, what I looked like, none of it. I was in the moment and simply overcome with the emotion that accompanied the hello or the goodbye.

These days my time in airports always seems a little more even-keeled, less emotional. Life is quite different than it was then. Even so, I always think of those times when I am in an airport... I don't know why but i just can't keep those thoughts and memories from resurfacing.

Have you ever looked around an airport though? Like really looked? I think it offers a glimpse of humanity. I think it reveals how similar we all can be.

On this trip, I've seen people crying and I can't help but wonder why their goodbye was so difficult, enough to evoke tears. I've been there, I remember. And then there are people who are ecstatic, emitting pure joy. I've been there too. I've overheard conversations that are deeply personal. And human. And I remember making personal calls in an airport because the timing was right to share something with someone close to me... It didn't matter if I was in an airport or in my own home. And of course, if you spend enough time in an airport, you'll see people extremely stressed out, desperate to know if they will get through security, make their flight, get their baggage back. It can have a way of bring out the worst in people.

It seems useful to open your eyes and see that we are really not so different. After all, haven't we all sprinted through the airport in a desperate attempt to catch our connecting flight?

Gratitude for another year... another birthday.

Another year has quickly flown by... and what a year it has been.  I'm in a completely different place than last year.  A different place mentally, emotionally, physically.

Time has ticked away as it normally does, with days turning to weeks and months, until a complete year has passed.  My own personal journey seems to expand beyond a year.  I have covered so much ground.  I can't wait for my journey to continue.

I'm full of gratitude today, my birthday.

There is much to be grateful for.

Now is the time

I've been thinking about starting to blog again for a long time.... like really starting to blog again... I'm feeling like I have a lot to say.

Now is the time.

Why now?

Why not now?

I read back through my last few posts.  The last one was in June 2012.  Wow, how did that happen?  How has it been that long?  It's amazing what can happen with the passage of some time.

It's even more incredible how some things do not change much at all.  Some of my posts leading up to June were about things that are still always on my mind now, things that I am still constantly working on and practicing in my life...

Some things, it seems, do not change.  I'm still learning about patience... embracing the transitional space of life... letting go.... being fully present in the moment....And on and on the list goes.

I'm ready to recreate this space, to open it back up.  I'm not sure what it will be or what it will turn in to.  I'm not sure and I don't think I need to be.  Maybe I'll start a 365 project again.  Maybe I'll just rant and ramble and reflect.

Either way, I feel sure that this space is full of possibility.....

And I am always open to the possibility of a fresh new start.