Jamie's heart began to pound, and she gripped Andy's hand tightly as the airplane made its descent. In just a few minutes, she'd be in a whole new world, a world radically different from the one she'd just left behind.
"Are you ready for the adventure of a lifetime?" asked Andy.
"Am I ever!" she replied.
The airplane landed, and all the passengers disembarked. Jamie saw a young man in the waiting area who seemed to be expecting them.
"Paul, this is Jamie, the young woman I told you about," Andy told him.
"Nice to meet you, Jamie." Paul extended his hand to her. "I'm Paul, the one who keeps Andy straight."
"The one I keep straight, you mean," Andy replied, and both men laughed.
"Shall we be off, then?" asked Paul.
The three walked outside to the jeep and got in. As the vehicle bumped along over the rocky terrain, Jamie stared in wonder at the wide variety of trees, plants, and flowers, the insects buzzing around them.
"I feel like I'm in an episode of Tarzan!" she exclaimed.
Paul laughed. "You ain't seen nothin' yet!"
When they reached the compound, Jamie saw it was painted white, with a black roof, two rows of windows trimmed in black, and a balcony with a black wire fence and outside stairs.
"Well, here we are," Andy remarked.
As they entered the building, Jamie saw it had long hallways with rows of doors like a college dorm.
"This is where Paul and I will be sleeping," Andy told Jamie as he stopped beside a door about halfway down the hall. "You're right next door. The restroom's down the hall, and meals are three times a day in the cafeteria. If you need anything, just knock."
"Thanks." Wondering whether she knew what she was getting herself into, Jamie turned to her door.
"I feel like I just sent my child off to Timbuktu!" Jo exclaimed as Doug drove his family back from the airport.
"What's Timbuktu, Mommy?" asked Bethany.
"A place far, far away," her mother told her.
"She's an adult now," Doug said to his wife. "We have to let her spread her wings and fly." He dabbed at his eyes. "It is hard, though."
"Don't you remember that time Andy and Paul went missing? What if Jamie had been with them?"
"They were found safe," Doug pointed out. "But I know what you mean, but tell me, how is that any different from havin' to worry about Clay? Every time he gets called to the scene of an emergency, we never know whether or not he'll make it back alive."
"I know," Jo admitted. "But at least Clay's still in the same town. It feels like Jamie's half a world away!"
"I know it does, hon." They were sitting at a traffic light, and Doug reached over and squeezed his wife's hand. "Erskine and Ada have been going through it for several years now. All you can do is take it one day at a time and hope for the best. And pray."
"Can we go to the pizza place with games, Daddy?" asked Bethany.
Doug grinned. "Sure!"
Jamie stood with Andy and Paul, spooning baked fish, vegetables, and rice onto plastic trays. On the other side of the table was a long line of deeply tanned natives dressed in colorful, if dirty and torn, clothing. Jamie saw a little girl who looked to be about Bethany's age. She had giant brown eyes and was peeking timidly out from behind her mother.
"I have a little sister at home who's just about your size!" she said to the little girl as she handed her a small carton of milk. The child didn't understand her words, but she grinned when she saw the milk.
After the meal came songs for the children in their own language, followed by a Bible story and prayer given by Andy. Jamie listened attentively, trying he best to pick up as much of the language as she could. Andy had promised to give her a intense crash course in it at the first opportunity, but in the meantime, she was trying her best to get a head start.
When the sun began to set, the natives returned to their huts and Andy, Paul, and Jamie rode back to the compound in the jeep. They were about halfway there when the rain started, and all three of them got drenched running into the building.
"Do you still want to do this?" Andy laughed as they entered their respective rooms.
Jamie grinned. "You bet!"