"This is your captain speaking... We've experienced a delay..."

As I have mentioned before, this is the first time my church is travelling to Liberia to see the good work that has been done in the African nation. Throughout this experience, I am establishing a pathway for future trips.

I had my bags packed. All the shots are taken. The checklists are completed. Nothing is left but to get up and go, right? Ah, that is where life dictates that my plans are never completely self-controlled.

I sent in for my visa about 10 days before the election. The plan was to have the visa return during the week of the election and then I can just board the plane on Saturday. As you can tell, Saturday has passed and I'm still in the United States. The visa hasn't arrived yet. What does this mean? Well, fortunately it means I just delay my trip by a few days. Unfortunately, I still don't have the visa, so there is no guarantee that I can still fly out.

I'm not nervous right now, because the embassy said the visa was mailed on Wednesday, which means I should receive it tomorrow at the latest. But it still is an uncomfortable feeling not having this document in my hand at the moment. I'd much rather have the visa now and expect to board a plane on Tuesday than to still wait for the Postal Service to deliver the necessary documents before I can rest easy in my upcoming travels. So, to those who are travelling overseas in the future, make sure your documents are sent with plenty of time to spare. And use the overnight option if one is available.

Because of this delay, however, I had to change my flight. That means I am not only leaving later, but I am returning later. I'll reach Chicago on November 24. For those of you keeping track at home, that means I'll return after my birthday, which is the 23. It's kind of fun to think that I'll be celebrating my birthday in Liberia, boarding a plane and arriving in Brussels shortly after my birthday.

I cannot imagine what it will be like to leave the country, or to spend time in Liberia. With my goal of holding no expectations, I have created a mindset where I am still in the United States until such a time that I actually board that plane bound for Europe. Until then, I'm just your average Joe, waiting for the next step in my life. For everyone, however, life can be exciting and unexpected - even when you don't go anywhere.