One theme of this trip that has already started to form in my mind and heart is making connections. As a traveler you make many connections. You have flight connections to get you to your destination. You make connections with the lady you bump into in the terminal bathrooms, or with people you sit next to on flights. Some connections are surface level and some are deeper. In order to make those deeper connections you have to be open and willing. I often catch myself on my phone checking social media or responding to last minute goodbye texts before my flight takes off, and today was a typical day of social media boredom scrolling. Today, as I boarded my flight a gentlemen made a comment somewhere along the lines of “looks like you are headed on a fun exploring trip” (seeing my camping backpack) I politely laughed at the comment and told him I was headed to Uganda. As a typical 23 year old caught up in her own life I rudely assumed he was just some dad headed on a golf trip with his buddies and quickly went back to my phone. After getting on the plane and reaching my seat, I realized that same kind face was in the seat across the isle form mine. He kindly helped me lift my heavy backpack into the storage ben when I struggle to find a place to fit it. We then began talking about where each of us were traveling to and discovered we were both doing mission work. Before taking off we knew each others names and had made connections through people we both knew in Raleigh, I knew his kids names and a little about their careers, and he had asked about my college experiences. As the flight went on we chatted about my mission work in Uganda and his former work with the YMCA and different camp programs. I don’t think I would have enjoyed my flight as much as I did if I had just sat in my seat and kept to myself the entire time. I was sad when our flight was over but once we exited the plane we hugged and wished each other luck on our journeys.   Experiences like this are reminders that in life it’s important to make connections with people you come in contact with. In these relationships we can share our lives, our experiences and most important of all we can share God’s love. I can’t wait to continue making connections with the people and children I see in Uganda!

Kaitlin