Adventure is Out There!

The inspirational line, "adventure is out there" from the movie UP, has apparently been my motto for life. I have been to a whole lot of places. I've seen a whole lot of things. And yes, I've documented what I've experienced in many of my own"Adventure Books".

I've explored the streets of London, retracing the steps of Dickens.
I've eaten a baguette in front of the Eiffel Tower.
I've gotten lost trying to navigate the winding streets of Rome. 
I've met two of my siblings for the first time in St.Vincent and then Ethiopia.                                     I've spent a year in Uganda, volunteering as a teacher. 
I've experienced the Festival of Diwali light up the Bangalore sky.
I've spent a year in Uganda, volunteering as a teacher (& meeting my future husband).
I've been proposed to on the cliffs of Jamaica.
I've sailed to Mexico and the Cayman Islands by way of the Caribbean Sea. 
I've seen a glimpse of the Grand Canyons magnificence. 
I've walked where Jesus walked and floated in the Dead Sea. 
I was married in the greatest destination wedding place ever... Grand Forks, ND. 

Yeah, I've had an adventure or two. 

With my husband (an American) and I (a Canadian)... the adventure of travel has continued on well into our short 5 years of marriage. However, our biggest adventure of all has been moving back to Uganda, Africa. The land where we first met.

With a toddler. 

I wish I could have moved to Africa, like Carl did in UP. Not having to pack a thing. Not having to choose what to bring and what to leave. To just have all my belongings and not part with any of them.  Yep, Carl got it right sitting there in his comfy chair, while his house floated itself all the way down to South America. He literally traveled in the comfort of his own home. 

Hasn't been that way for us. 

We gave away. 

We sold off. 

We stored. 

We packed up. 

We lightened our load. 

My son has been on 31 flights in his short 2.5 years of life. He began to crawl in the Tel Aviv airport as we waited to leave Israel. He learned to walk on the dusty Ugandan ground. He's been on road trips across Canada and the United States. 

Travel is in his DNA too. 

Travel takes you from places and to places. 
It means a lot of "hellos" and a lot of  "goodbyes".
It's been and will continue to have an important place in our lives.
Travel means saying "yes" to the unknowns. 

And to the packing.
And to the letting go. 

And to the greatest adventure serving... wherever God calls us.

Sometimes you've got to let go, to be able to go where God calls you to go. 

Even Carl had to let go of his house before he could go on his next adventure. 
With his house floating away, Carl said, "It's only a house." 
Some things are more important than a comfy chair. Or for me, my endless art supplies.

For us, it wasn't a picture of Paradise Falls painted above our mantel (not that we had one),
it was a vision of serving in Northern Uganda for the unforeseeable future.  
Travel has brought us some pretty incredible adventures. 
I'm grateful every day to see and experience life wherever I find myself.

Even in raising a toddler in a different culture and country than my own. 
Learning new ways to cook and clean in Uganda's dry season. 
Setting up a home, with both special treasures brought with and new ones found here. 
Creating with what is available to me. 

It's all part of the adventure. 
And it's out there. 



_______
*Linking up with Velvet Ashes on the theme "travel"

Pictures: Silas at 12 months old, weeks before moving to Uganda.