"Courtney, we are Girl Scouts..."

Meet Alex.  She is one of my very best friends, despite her affinity for things such as P90X, half-marathons, "healthy cookies" that contain cranberries, oatmeal, and Splenda, and being chronically late, none of which I am a fan.   In the words of Pastor Brad, she is one the "least self-promoting people I know," meaning Alex quietly goes about her business and is content to do it without fanfare or recognition.  But I can't let her off the hook that easy.  You see, Alex is leaving for a trip overseas the same day I am - she's headed to Germany to do research for THE Ohio State University, likewise for a month.  

She came over last night for a little bit, catching up before we both head out the door and across The Pond.  We've gone back and forth with each other, asking questions and telling each other, "Did you get this done?  GET YOUR PASSPORT! Were you able to get your global phone?  Are you taking this with you?  Why are you taking your rock climbing gear?  GET YOUR PASSPORT!"  (Alex was the one dragging her feet about getting her passport and I had to keep harassing her about it - she's also the one taking rock climbing gear.)  We spent last night giving each other pep talks about the trip and flying by ourselves and how we were going to manage it all.  We talked through a lot of fears and all the things that could possibly go wrong and Alex finally said, quite seriously but with half of a smirk, "Courtney.  You and I are both big girls, we are Girl Scouts [not literally, but meaning we are resourceful gals and have got a lick of sense] and if something does go wrong or we miss a flight or something gets lost, we'll figure it out.  We open our mouths and we ask, 'Do you speak English?'  No, okay.  'Do you speak English?' Okay, moving on...' It'll all be okay and we'll make it.  If God has called us to this, he'll get us there then.  Now, it might take a few  days or he may get us there in a roundabout way, but we will get there."   By this time I had the giggles so bad envisioning the two of us standing in airports somewhere trying to figure out where the heck we are supposed to be and wondering if we missed our flight. 

Yes, we will get there and it will be like Beth Moore said when talking about her own recent trip to Africa and all of the complications that went along with:  We'll turn to the Father and say, "I would not have missed this for the world."