Finally...

It's finally here.


The day that the Global Expeditions call center has been working for all year.

Through the burn-out, exaustion, stress, and all of the other struggles we've faced with no proof that what we were doing has been for any benefit, we pushed on...knowing that it would all be worth it in the end...


The end is finally here.


TRIP GROUP 1
MISSIONARY ARRIVAL DAY!!!!!!!!


On Monday, the missionaries are FINALLY ARRIVING!!!!!! Team Leaders came yesterday, and Missionary Advisors came today!!!! Missionary arrival day is almost here.

We have fought for these kids and groups to get here ALL YEAR LONG!
First, we fought to get them applied.
App 4 pages of 4, Application fee, parent authorization, pastor reccomendations, pending, COMPLETE!!!
Over and over. 4,000+ times.

App 4/4, app fee, parent auth, pastor rec...Silly GE Rep! error, wait 24 hours, pending...complete!!!!


1st call, 2nd call, group deposit, 50% deadline, ticketing..., Travel Release forms, Background Checks, Passports, 100% deadline ARRIVAL DAY!!!!!!

Day after day, this is what it looked like.

From Early September - mid june.

This is what my life looked like.

"It's a great day at Global Expeditions, this is Kyle, how can I help you?"
"Hi, this is Kyle from Global Expeditions, do you have a minute to talk?"

Millions of times I've spoken these words. After hours and hours of talking on the phones, endless notes, benchmarks, trip codes, trip letter dates.

I've spoken to many varieties of parents: angry parents, excited parents, nervous parents, parents who are afraid to let go for a week, parents who won't even consider letting their children go on a trip even though they're 20, parents who didn't care, parent's who didn't speak english or spanish but randomly spoke romanian, parents who pretended not to speak english, parents who are worried about the conflict in Mx even though we're nowhere near where the travel advisories are in effect, and finally more often than not parents who are actually cooperative .:)

I've spoken to many varieties of students too: Students who are super talkative & won't let you get a word in edgewise, students who ONLY reply in one word answers, students who are afraid to let go, students who are afraid, students who are adventurous, students that will only go if their friend goes, students who get jobs and drop from the trip, students who procrastinate in applying for a passport, students who are fake, students who love the Lord, students who are complacent, students that cannot wait to get on the mission field, and students whose lives have been changed by the trip they took last summer...

And more than any of these, I've talked to some awesome youth pastors that fight through the influences of the world because they want to see the love of Christ come about in the students that they mentor. These people are amazing, and after spending hours and hours on the phone with them, fighting in prayer for them, and through all of the worry about not making deadlines, and financial miracles happening, hearing the awe in the voice of what the Lord is doing is all worth it. I can't wait to talk to them about their trips after they get back and see what the Lord has done in the lives of their students AND adult sponsors.

All of the work is worth it.

Everything that we've done this year is FINALLY coming to fruition.

"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." Galations 6:9

:)