I contacted most of the people I know who have traveled: missionaries, friends who have had interesting vacations, various in-laws who often host international students, business people from church, and a couple who have bicycled across most of Asia in order to see what medical care is like around the world (they are busy in medical school right now though, bummer!)
I asked them if they could visit my class, but also for their advice in traveling and interacting with people from different backgrounds, so I could pass it on if they couldn’t come.
My pastor, who traveled for business a great deal before being called to the ministry, and has traveled to Belarus since then, pulled out his traveling "musts," a mask to sleep in the light (Sweden in Summer was really bright in the middle of the night) ear plugs (snoring traveling companion) multi-band cell phone to keep in touch with his lovely wife, passport with interesting visa stamps, knowledge of culture and political situation, and missionary biographies, not to travel with, but because a world map inspired William Carey and John G. Paton to see where God wanted them to go. Some of the kids were dissappointed when the class was over and it was time to go outside and socialize!
In a few weeks one of our church’s missionaries will be coming a day early to speak at the co-op, then visit Plimouth plantation (the re-inacted place, that’s not a typo) and later speak at our church. I’m so grateful she is willing to come early for our co-op!
I might get another speaker, but her work schedule may be in the way. I also count – I finally have a passport, and I went somewhere with it – Guangzhou China in 2007, as a traveling companion to my friend when she picked up her daughter.
I needed some accountability to get the double scrapbooks made, one for her, one for me.