Traveling Companions

My traveling companions met tonight for a final preparation meeting before our trip in October. We have one more packing meeting scheduled, and then we depart for 16 days together in Tanzania.

We talked about covenant tonight. The ancient covenant between Abraham and God. The covenant relationship between our congregation and the congregation in Tungamalenga. The covenant we make with one another as traveling companions: to remember that we are traveling not as tourists but as ambassadors of our congregation, to put the needs of the group above our individual needs, and to put the needs of our hosts and this partnership even higher. We agree to roll with whatever comes our way, to be flexible about itinerary, to go out of our comfort zone every day.

The conversation reminded me how dependent we are on each other in a situation far from home. We're traveling together, and no one gets left behind, no matter what. There's an acknowledgement of the reality that the success of the trip is dependent on the group and on every member of the group.

I think of my last five trips, and the companions on those journeys. The first trip, we were all new to this place and to this partnership. We had a wonderful doctor in the group, who each morning would greet us at breakfast with, " how did you sleep" and "so does anyone have any diarrhea?" We got to know one another really well, and we looked out for one another. There have been great photographers, and quiet people who had amazing one on one conversations as we rode the bus from one village to the next. There have been teens who organized games with the village kids--even though neither could speak a word of the other's language. There have been nurses who looked out for members of the group and then spent the day doing rounds with the village doctor, treating diseases they'd only read about before.

My companions on this journey are an amazing group of women. My daughter Em, 16, with her gift for languages and music and her resilience. A couple years ago when she first visited Tanzania, she walked four kilometers to a village even on a day when she was sick, and then she led our singing. S, a retired early childhood teacher who walks faster than I can walk when I am on a moving walkway at the airport. L, our nurse who has already helped us prepare for a healthy trip. Pastor D, whose gift of pastoral care will be sorely needed at this time, and whom I treasure as a co-coordinator of this partnership.