Left Baggage
Elizabeth Brady
July 1, 1999
My conversion from beer to Jesus was necessary. It was necessary for my worn relationships, my tortured soul, and my overused liver. And the mission group with which I winged off to Burkina Faso the following year likely wouldn't have sent me had I not signed that non-drinking pledge I smile now, many years on, with a delicious sort of awe at my pure enthusiasm and complete ignorance. Was I ready? Was I mature enough "in the faith"? I don't know. But I knew then, as I know now, that God called me at that time to that place for a reason, and I took the leap of faith and went. I recall travelling back to my hometown from college to ask a bemused vestry for money to be a missionary for a year. These folks were my parents' friends and had known me growing up. They knew I was one of the "wild ones," and yet they listened respectfully and even smiled when I told them of my experience with Jesus. Most telling, they supported me financially. After months of preparation and missionary survival training, the departure day arrived. I loaded my two trunks onto a plane bound for Charles DeGaulle airport in Paris where I would connect with a flight destined for Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. I had a short layover in New York City. Sitting alone in the waiting area I was suddenly paralyzed by fear. I fell back on an old but dependable way of calming myself: I tucked my gold cross into my sweater and bought a pack of Marlboro Lights. I smoked a few before boarding and began to relax. We flew overnight to Paris. I pulled my two trunks off the carousel, swung them onto my Smart Carte and rode the elevator downstairs to my terminal. I had a twenty-three hour layover. I piled my trunks one on top of the other, propped my feet up ...
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