Be careful what you carry because you can only take so much

Well, in less than 24 hours I will be departing from this wonderful country. I have been preparing for this adventure since November, and I think I am as ready as I can be. My bags are packed, weighed, marked, and in the van. My room is packed, clean, and full of mom's beautiful baskets. The rest of my belongings are in boxes and tubs in the attic, I will miss my shoes. One of the most difficult things for me over the last couple months has been packing, first my apartment and then my luggage. It isn't easy to put things into boxes that you have lived with and used for years, and leave them behind as if you no longer love them, but at the end of the day they are things, trinkets, and possessions- if  you added it all up to equal a monetary value it wouldn't amount to much, it is all used, worn, and last year's stuff. A bunch of my things I even got rid of, I hadn't seen it in two years, used it, or needed it, so it was off to a garage sale, I more or less cleaned out my life from the past four years- and when I come back I will still have things that I need to go through and make decisions on, which is on of my weakest qualities- decision making. Which is one reason packing was so hard. What does one pack for an entire year? I wanted to take teaching supplies, I need clothes- but which ones and how many, which of my beloved shoes will I tread on over the next 365 days, can I take books, journals, I will need a toothbrush, what will I need? As most of you know me pretty well I am a world-class procrastinator, I packed yesterday. Piles of things lined the upstairs wall neat and ready to go in bags, these will be the things from America I will have for the next year, well it all fit in my bags and i was only over about 2 lbs, so I guess I did pretty well, I pulled out a few things and am ready to go, except I still feel I am probably missing something, which in the end probably won't matter at all, but i know I can't take half of the things that I want to. I had to leave most of my gear, my climbing ropes, my tent, my books, and other things I value. But they aren't what I value most, because they have been in my attic for two months already and I am still alive, the things I value most don't fit in my luggage, and I can't pack them away in my attic, because they are people. I have been so blessed to have amazing people  in my life from the day I was born. As cliche as it is, I would be nowhere near where I am today if it weren't for the people in my life, starting with my family, then my friends. If I could take everyone with me I would, but I can't, and most of you couldn't come anyways, which in the end is the best. This year is going to be a year full of growth, it will be the first time in my life where I will have no one to lean back on except for the Lord. This year I am no longer a dependent- according to the IRS,  but in fact I will still be a dependent. I am a dependent of the Lord. If I wasn't there would be no way I would get on a plane travel to another country by myself, to meet someone I have never met, to ride on a bus through a country I have never been to, to teach at a school I have never seen, and to love kids I don't know. But I will be able to do all of those things for an entire year, I am well equipped, the Lord by my side I am boarding Flight 419 tomorrow and at 11:15 I will be stepping onto Peruvian soil. I cannot wait, and I cannot thank all of my family and friends, my most valued possessions, enough for their prayers and support, and I can't wait to send you pictures and tell of my adventures in Peru. I am ready to be a dependent of God, and find out who I am in Christ, thanks again for joining me on my adventure!!! In God's Peace- Sam