romans 8.28

"and we know that in all things God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purpose" Romans 8.28

it all began at 9:41 last night. i was on my way to the library when my mom called me to give me my passport information for our trip to haiti. instead, all she said was "Juge (pronounced 'jooj'), your passport expired may of 2010". immediately i begin sobbing. like angry/frustrated/sad/helpless crying. like snot and gasping for air sobs. why hadn't i checked my passport when i was home for christmas break? i've raised over $2,000 for this trip- there is no way i can't go. were supposed to leave sunday morning. short version: i'm flipping out. i turn my car around and go home. i get on the internet and start searching for how to renew passports in emergency situations. nothing. i call courtney (our area director/trip leader) and she tells me to call her sister, who i babysit for, because this happened to them last summer. i call cathy. there is a way.

US Passport Agencies (i capitalized, to emphasize the intensity) are regionally located throughout the US. closest one? washington, dc. i call the dc agency to schedule an appointment through a long and drawn out automated appointment system and there isn't one for friday. next i call the agency in philadelphia. got an appointment for noon. but i need passport pictures. i need my birth certificate or my old passport both of which are in wilmington. so i pack a bag, call hannah, and go to kinko's in between for pictures. i got to kinko's at 10:58. they close at 11. the result?

every time i travel for the next 10 years i will be able to remember all of this with this photo. 

thanks, kinko's man.

i rush to pick up hannah. were driving to wilmington (2 hours from raleigh) to get my passport. at this point, my plan is to drive through the night to philadelphia. as we are leaving raleigh, han presents me with the facts of the matter: we would hit morning traffic, we would risk missing my appointment, and we would get back to raleigh 30 hours before leaving for haiti not having slept. SIKE. reluctantly, i ask hannah to call coco and try to book a flight from raleigh for the morning. note: up until this point, i was refusing to fly. i had made a huge mistake in not checking my passport and was so upset with myself that i just wanted to take things into my own hands and drive a total of 20 hours to fix it. surprisingly, this sounded logical at the time. but, flying was the only sane option.

we made it to my parents' house in an hour and 15 minutes- record time. after snacking, talking to my half-asleep mom, and grabbing more snacks for the road, we head back to raleigh. we got back at 4am. my flight was scheduled to leave at 7:40am from raleigh. i went to sleep around 4:30.

today, i woke up surprisingly energized and went to the airport at 6:30. i thought i had come to the end of the road when i saw the line for checking in. thankfully, i wasn't checking any bags so i went to the very front of the line and checked in at a kiosk. got through security, got some mags, said a lot of prayers, and got on the plane to philly. on the plane, i got to share my story with the lady next to me and she suggested taking the train/subway from the airport right downtown. it's cheaper and faster than a taxi. my thoughts? when in rome, do as the romans do. bring it on subway. after i got off of the plane, i headed straight to the train. i got on right as they were closing the doors. the conductor told me where i needed to get off and how to switch trains. i got a ticket and enjoyed the graffiti scenery on the way downtown. after getting further directions from the information desk at the subway station (after i got off of the first train) i found my way to my second train and got on. when i got off at my stop, i walked up to the street. kind of felt like a movie where "small town girl (even though im not from a small town) gets thrown into the big city". thankfully, the passport agency was only a block away. when i saw the building, i realized this really was an intense government operation. the security seemed more intense than the airport. but the security guard saw that i was from wilmington and proceeded to tell me about all of his relatives who live there and how he visits often. thankful that i could make friends while in philly.

i had to fill out an application for a new passport (which scared me because it made me think there was a possibility they wouldn't be able to do it immediately) and checked in an hour and a half before my appointment. the lady took all of my documents and gave me a number. i waited literally 3 mins before my number was called and then she told me my passport would be ready at 2:30. piece of cake.

i had 3 hours to wait so i hung out in a really cute cafe/coffee shop for the entire 3 hours. i talked to my friends and my parents and my brother, sam and my sister, shaunna. i tried to post this then (it took me an hour to write) but then it wouldn't post and wouldn't allow me to edit. that was the only time i cried today. which, compared to last night, and mixing complete exhaustion into the mix i thought wasn't half bad. at 2 i picked up my passport EARLY and headed back on the subway to the airport. but this time, i ended up at the main amtrak station in downtown philly instead of switching rails underground. scared me a little but i got on my train.

when i got to the airport i had 3 hours until my flight. i ate frozen yogurt and had some lemonade before i fell asleep curled up around my backpack on the ground next to the kiosk. the nice kiosk-working-man woke me up twice to ask me if i was going to manchester, that was a nope, and then to tell me my gate had been changed, which was necessary. when we got onto the runway, we were twenty-eighth in line to leave. TWENTY-EIGHTH. i fell back asleep. an hour later, we were finally ready to take off. i slept the whole flight. sitting up, careful not to touch or weird out the girl beside me and im 100% positive my mouth was wide open the whole time. hope i didn't snore. couldn't find my car when i got back to the raleigh airport. at 6:30 am, i wasn't paying attention to what level and row i parked in (another travel lessoned learned). okay so i lied before, i cried then too, just a little, because i was looking for my car in a parking deck where everything looked the same for 30mins. but two times in one crazy day? i'll take it. i literally said outloud "Lord, help me find my car. i'm tired, and we've already gotten this far today." two seconds later i was standing next to my car, only to realize it was mine by clicking the lock button and hearing it beep. God is good.

lesson learned: check the expiration date/travel documents months before a trip. bigger lesson learned? God is bigger than travel plans, anxiety, fear, pride, anger, tears (violent sobs), driving at 3am, sleep (or lack thereof), flights, scary places, government policy/procedure, and money. the money one was huge for me. that's why i was reluctant to take a flight in the beginning- because it would be so much. but what i realized today was that in the grand scheme of things, it will be taken care of and it's not the end all be all. people loved me so well today with tweets, FB posts, texts, and prayers. 24 hours later, i can say that i am glad i went through this. this was nuts. but it's an epic story.

what's an even greater story is that in 27 hours i will be waking up to travel to haiti with some of the most beautiful people i know in order to share the most beautiful news i know- the good news of Jesus. in the midst of tragedy, hopelessness, and fear we get to enter in with the greatest warrior on our side. my prayer is that the people we come into contact with within the next week would experience God's healing power and mighty strength in a way that i can't even begin to wrap my mind around. it's going to be a battle. but i will hold fast to the fact that our hearts are battleground that Jesus has already won. i pray that we fight hard spiritually and that our bodies follow. after all, i've learned lately that physical pain and exhaustion are relative when accompanied by hearts that are in just the right place.

"and the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever, Amen." 1 Peter 5.10-11

needless to say, we didn't run today. but we will be running six tomorrow.
pre-haiti post soon to come,
Julia

ps: i wouldn't hate having another friday in philly in the near future. minus stress and exhaustion. plus some good friends.