The longest trip I’ve ever taken wasn’t a vacation.

In 2008, I spent five weeks in Africa on a mission trip. And just getting there, and getting around, was an adventure of its own.

Atlanta to Washington, D.C.
Washington to Cape Verde.
Cape Verde to Johannesburg.
Johannesburg to Cape Town.
Cape Town to Nelspruit.
Nelspruit back to Johannesburg.
Johannesburg to Lusaka, Zambia.
Lusaka back to Johannesburg.
Johannesburg to Cape Verde.
Cape Verde to Washington, D.C.
And finally, Washington back home to Atlanta.

By the time it was over, airports, airplanes, luggage, and long travel days had become part of everyday life.

But the miles aren’t really what I remember most.

I remember the people.

We spent five weeks loving on people we didn’t know. We crossed an ocean and traveled thousands of miles to meet people whose lives, cultures, and experiences were very different from ours—and discovered, as people often do when they actually sit down together, that we’re not nearly as different as we sometimes imagine.

It wasn’t always easy. There were long days, exhausting days, uncomfortable moments, and times when home felt very far away.

But there were also moments of laughter, connection, gratitude, and perspective that couldn’t have happened anywhere else.

I came home tired.

I also came home changed.

Eighteen years later, I’ve forgotten plenty of details about those five weeks. But I’ve never forgotten what it felt like to travel halfway around the world simply to show up, serve where we could, and love people we’d never met before.

That was the longest trip I’ve ever taken.

And in more ways than one, it took me much farther than Africa.

Published by Jeff

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