No More Prep Meetings

I am, quite frankly, at a loss.

When people hear about my plans for next year, the most frequent response is "Have you ever been to Haiti?" Certainly a natural question to ask. And my response usually includes something about how no, I have not, but I have been on many a mission trip.

Many a mission trip, yes, but never one like this.

Mission trips in the past have always been organized and executed by the wonderful people at good old Knox Pres. This mission trip must be organized and executed by me.

Mission trips in the past have always been in the context of my community at Knox. This mission trip, I'm not going as part of a team. I suppose I will be a part of a team once I get to Haiti, but for now, I go alone.

And mission trips in the past have always had two, three, sometimes more prep meetings, usually about 2-3 hours long, that everyone going on the trip had to attend in order to adequately prepare. These meetings included logistical details, information about the mission location, team building activities, discussions about justice and what it means to serve...

But now I have no more prep meetings, and I am at a loss. How does one prepare for a mission trip with no prep meetings??? Will I even be prepared for this mission trip with no prep meetings???

And so instead of two or three designated time frames for preparation, I am faced with a challenge:
How can I make my entire life a prep meeting? How can I shift my entire mentality to one that is preparing me for the mission field? In speech, in all my interactions, in what I prioritize, in my habits, in what I indulge in, how can everything be a prep meeting?

At first I tried to compartmentalize it too much. For instance, in order to prepare, I am reading this book:

It's a very good book with many helpful suggestions and practical approaches to serving overseas in the most effective way possible, and I'm learning a lot. But my preparation for this trip should not be limited to just one hour of reading this book each day. My preparation for this trip should be evident in all that I do!

And you know what? I realized something else. Good old Knox Pres is still playing a role in preparing me. A big and important one. Maybe not at all with those nitty-gritty logistics, but in the past few weeks, Knox people have given me so much advice, so much encouragement, and so much support. Rather than being sent out by Knox with people from Knox, I am simply being sent out by God and Knox is an important part of that sending. They are more than doing their part to prepare me for this venture. In fact, they have more than done their part to prepare me for this venture with these past eighteen years of teaching and nurturing and loving me.

It's like my whole entire life has been a prep meeting for this trip. Maybe I don't need to be at such a loss after all.