Laura's Bosnia Blog-Part 1 - The Journey - 9/10/09

Thursday, September 10, 2009, 5:50 pm, PST                                                                         My journey has begun.  It all started in in April when I traveled by myself, without my family for the first time to Las Vegas (see previous post).  That experience was quite liberating for me and, I believe, planted a seed....an idea floating around in my mind and heart that it was kind of fun to "do my own thing."  It's not that life hadn't been fun up to that point.  This was just an added element....another layer to be added to my life.  I was intrigued by it and a bit surprised that I was 48 years old before I had discovered it.

I went to the Santa Cruz Mountains during a beautiful weekend in May, 2009.  My family and I were attending our church’s annual family retreat.  I actually hadn’t paid much attention to who the guest speaker was to be. We usually went to get away from the craziness of life and to enjoy the company of friends.  We were doing just that, at dinner, about an hour after we had arrived.  Our friends, Craig and Patty were asking about my oldest son, Nicholas.....where was he living and what was he doing.  My answer?  “He’s living in Seattle, working at a Chemical company to pay the rent.”  Craig asked what he would like to be doing and I told him that he was passionate about Micro finance.  “Well,” said Craig, “I should introduce you to Angela Mason, our guest speaker for the weekend.  She works for World Vision, and they’re heavily into micro finance.”  As it happened, I was sitting one person removed from Angela, and to say that we had an instant connection would be an understatement.  We chatted for a few minutes and then I told her about Nick and his interest in micro finance.  Angela, who is probably the most charming, witty, and humorous woman I know, told me to have Nick give her a “ring” at her office on Monday.  You see, Angela is British.  She moved to San Francisco from the UK during the early 80’s to become a nanny so that she could learn to speak “American”. She eventually became a corporate head-hunter, but found her “calling” one evening in the late 80’s.  She was watching a 20-20 special on TV on the orphanages in Romania.  It was the first time that we, as Americans, were made aware of the fact that babies were dying in these orphanages because they weren’t being held.  She ran into the other room to find her husband and told him that she knew what she needed to do.  She had  to save these babies.  So began her journey into the world of non-profit work and being an advocate for children.  She travelled to Romania and founded an organization called Touch Romania.  Eventually, the president of World Vision became aware of her work and asked her to do for WV what she had done with Touch Romania.  Angela is currently an advocate for women and children living in poverty, world-wide and is a motivational speaker.  She has travelled to 75 countries during the past 19 years!  She describes herself as a cross between Mary Poppins and Jerry Seinfeld, and I believe that is quite accurate.  Listening to her speak throughout the weekend was both hilarious and moving.

After speaking with Nicholas on Monday afternoon (yes....he called her and she proceeded to get him the contact that he needed to get a job in World Vision’s micro finance department!) she called to tell me that she thought he was delightful and that she had a question for me.  She was wondering if I would consider travelling with her to Bosnia in September.  “Usually” she said, “people call me and ask me to take them on trips.” But she said that this just felt “right” to her and would I think about it?  Well, considering the fact that I’ve never travelled out of the US before, nor have I ever had any desire to do so, I SHOCKED myself when I told her that I was intrigued.  She told me that we would be visiting women who have received funds from World Vision’s microfinance program, have started their own businesses and have pulled their families out of poverty.  They would be telling us their stories....about their lives before, during and after the war.  She said that these are amazing women and that their stories are inspirational. It didn’t take me long to decide that I wanted to join her.  She told me that we would be meeting in London (there are six of us), travelling together to Dubrovnik, Croatia, and then continuing on to Sarajevo, Bosnia, which would be our “home base” for the week.  We would take day trips to various villages to meet these fascinating women. Preparations for my trip were both exciting and overwhelming.  I know how to pack and prepare for a trip to visit family, or for a family vacation, but Bosnia?  I had so much to do.  First, I needed to apply for a passport.  Then the vaccination process began.  My body did NOT like those!  Angela did an amazing job of preparing me and letting me know what I needed to bring and how to pack.....75 countries in 19 years....I believe she’s figured it out by now! Not only did I need to prepare myself for my trip, but I had to prepare my family for “survival” in my absence.  With the exception of a quick 2-day trip to Vegas last April (which proved to be quite a challenge when my husband, Paul “texted” my daughter, Emily within hours of my leaving to tell her that he would not be coming home that night....yes, this was right in the middle of the government “Stress Test”) I have never travelled alone.  I travelled with my family while growing up, my husband when we were married right out of college, and for the past 24 years, my children have accompanied me.  This is a brand new experience for me and I am excited beyond words! Anyway, preparing my family and home for my absence was all-consuming.  Considering that I have stayed home full-time for the past 23 years, and given the fact that Paul works long hours and travels extensively, I run the home.  It is a job that I absolutely love and feel honoured to do, but I have no “back-ups” in place.  There’s never a need for “plan B” because I’m ALWAYS there.  I think that’s a good thing for our family and that Paul and the kids find security in that knowledge, but it will be just as good for them to discover that they can manage quite well without me. This is why making preparations for my absence was proving to be a challenge, until Nick offered to come home during that time to help out.  It was perfect timing from his job perspective, and my answer to prayer.  All of a sudden, everything fell into place.

Emily and Christopher are so excited to have Nick around for 2 weeks and it really lifted a burden off Paul’s shoulders.  He is driving home from Seattle as I write, and knowing that he will be there has given me such peace.

It is now 8:00 pm, CST and I am on the plane, 3 hours and 15 minutes into my 9 hour, 45 minute flight.  I have had dinner, watched a bit of a movie, and am planning on settling in for the night soon. Thank goodness for Ambien (fingers crossed that it will work) and thank goodness that as I boarded my Virgin Atlantic flight, as Paul says, “I went to the left!”  Yes....flying coach on British Airways on Sunday will bring me back to reality....that’s a good thing.

But for now, this International travel thing is not too bad! The thirteen days that I have ahead of me are going to be exciting and, I’m sure, filled with emotion.  I will be seeing a side of life that is unimaginable, and I will see strength and resilience that I didn’t know was possible.  I read a quote that, I believe, describes what this trip will do for me: “Travel is more than the seeing of sights....it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”  Miriam Beard While I believe that I have always appreciated the privileged life that I have been blessed to live, I do believe that I had become complacent....content to just live my good little life in my safe, tiny world, and perhaps the time was right for me to step out of my comfort zone.  I can’t explain why I’m not really nervous about this trip.  Perhaps it is because I trust Angela and know that she is a confident, competent leader.  Perhaps it is because I think that, at age 48; it is about time for me to have my very own adventure.  Most likely, though, it is because this is what I’m meant to do.  Who know where this will lead....I won’t think about that now, though.  I’m just going to savour this adventure....every step of the way...and take it all in.  I’m just thankful for the opportunity to broaden my world. I’m going to try to sleep now.  When I awaken, I will be about to land in London.  That should be a lovely way to begin my journey!  Sweet dreams....