I am exactly one week from beginning my 2 year journey in the Pearl of Africa.  Time is short, but is there a way to make it shorter.  This post is merely a jump start to documenting my expedition.  The reason why I need a jump start?  To soothe the stress of what to expect from this experience.  This experience of pursuit for the happiness of hopeful strangers that wait to hear the truth.

If you were to ask me one month ago how I felt about going on a mission, I would tell you that the excitement of embarking on this adventure covered every inch of my body.  Now... reality is creeping up my excitement filled body.  My mind races through the thought, "This is happening, and you don't know what to expect."  Looking back on the period of time between receiving my mission call and actually leaving for that mission, I think of myself as "all talk."  I have been given this great opportunity to go halfway around the world to share the very root of my joy in this life with an exotic people that I have never met before.  1 week away from beginning this opportunity, and now it's even harder to believe.

Essentially, I am stepping out of a cushy comfort zone.  I have been in this state ever since I was born, and I was never at any risk of leaving this zone growing up.  The culture shock will be brutal and my faith in myself will be tested, but how glorious will the day come when I am in the mission field, and I know of a surety that this is where I'm supposed to be.  That day will surely come, and I will step into a new zone that I call "marvelous."

Elder Wilson