Preface | Preamble

The Long Way Home

Once around the world and home again.

The easiest way to describe the route I have chosen to take on my way back to (resettle in) Australia goes a little something like this:

I am travelling through a large number of countries around the Mediterranean Sea followed by a larger number of countries surrounding the Caribbean Sea.

I will take about ten months to complete the journey.

I guess it’s called ‘the long way home,’ or perhaps - ‘the scenic route.’


Excuses – Excuses - Excuses

I don't have any reasonable reasons for travelling, just excuses. (I am of the opinion that I will only know the real reasons for which I am spending this year travelling as I near the end of my journey.) My excuses for travelling are as follows:

1. I completed a Theology degree last year and have for a long time thought that a pilgrimage through the Holy Lands (over the Passover/Easter season) would be an appropriate reward for the years of disciplined study.

2. I have many good friends who live on the far sides of the large oceans that surround Australasia who I miss and intend to visit.

3. I want to ensure that I can function in the heat of Central America, & that the projects that are being established there to train local people as eye specialists are truly worthwhile, before committing myself to long term aid work in one or more of the areas I visit and briefly volunteer in.

Hopes & Fears

I also have some hopes & fears for the year ahead. If you’re of the praying persuasion, these be the things for which I most covet your prayers:

I hope to …

… be closer to God – by connecting deeply with all the different people He/She has breathed life into and the beautiful world She/He has made for us all to live in.

… become more observant – especially in recognising the activity of the Spirit of God (a welcome presence in my life) in the little happenings of each day, and in the larger directing of all my days (ie - Her/His plan for my life).

… engage in much conversation of a spiritual nature - so as to develop a language for, & fluency in, the way I express my faith in the shape it has assumed following four years of theological study (while at the same time discovering first hand what other people truly believe).

… move away from a conceptual/theoretical mindset towards a more practical/active disposition.

… return to the primary text by reading (and then listening to) every book of the bible.

… regain the capacity for awe and wonder.

I fear that …

… travelling alone for such a long length of time – often having nothing to do beyond finding ways to keep myself entertained for a day – will incline my spirit to be focussed on me rather than others, thereby causing me to be quick to serve myself and slow to serve others.

… the need to make multiple money related decisions each day (beyond the norm of settled life), performing mathematical currency conversions for every transaction, & trying to simultaneously attain a bargain and avoid being exploited as an ignorant tourist, will have the net effect of turning me into a stingy miser, distorting my spirit such that it be overly conscious of financial concerns (and therefore high on possessiveness & low on compassion). To combat this corruptive process I want to be generous even while travelling on a budget (meeting others needs as I am able) and to maintain a ‘spread the wealth’ attitude (injecting feeble New Zealand dollars into flailing foreign economies).

Thanks for tagging along …

Arohanui …

lucas