I'm not quite at the stage of counting down the days yet, but the anticipation is growing. I love fishing, I love travel and I love my Christian faith, and it seems almost greedy to be bringing the three of them together for a "once in a lifetime" adventure treck, but that's what I'll be doing at the end of next month.
All travel is exciting, but the most rewarding is when the journey spirits you out of your existing comfort zone. All-inclusive poolside holidays in Spain have their place, but they don't teach you much about life or yourself. My forthcoming American adventure will unquestionably take me to places (and I'm not just talking geography here) that I've never previously been.
Travelling (unaccompanied) in a rented car- alas not the pick-up or SUV beloved of American outdoorsmen, but a cheap little economy hatchback- my journey will take me from Atlanta to South Carolina, on to North Carolina, then into Tennessee and Kentucky before spending some time in Missouri. I'll be connecting with American Christians (churches, individuals and groups) who use fishing and hunting to build relationships with non-churchgoers and to share faith with them, with the intention of learning lessons that are transferrable to a UK context.
There is- inevitably- some fishing planned. A kayak fishing trip will see me way outside the familiar (I've only canoed 3 or 4 times in my 45 years, and to do so with an expert in the kayak in front, while trying to cast and land fish on a four foot rod will severely test my mettle ... and I suspect do wonders for my humility!). My wife, upon hearing of this proposed kayak trip at first looked alarmed, but was later seen reading the small print on my life insurance policy with a strange, avaricious look in her eye! I'll also be fishing for North America's favourite sportfish, the largemouth bass, as well as hoping to bank fish for trout in Lake Taneycomo. Excited? ... you bet!
Most of all I'm looking forward to meeting new people and making new friends. I'm excited about worshipping in new contexts (ranging from a Presbyterian church in South Carolina through Southern Baptist to an "Outdoors person's" church in Missouri), and to meeting people who run local and national outreach ministries based around outdoor sports, sharing their life and learning from them as I experience and enjoy the distinctives of their church-life, their culture and traditions.
Motels, big steaks, strong black coffee, bluegrass music, the open road, Christian fellowship, apple pie and new fishing techniques and methods .... bring it on! Oh, and I'll be blogging too, so you also can vicariously experience life on the road, interesting characters, and fishing and faith US-style.
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