We made it. Now start mingling.

They say it's often not about the destination but about the journey.

Well after 27 hours travelling from Heathrow via Chicago to Estes Park, with its beautiful surrounding scape...I think in this case it's fair to say that the destination wins.

 It's my first full day here in Colorado and things are kicking into gear; Estes Park staff who greeted us at 5am this morning were back up again mere hours later, serving new arrivals like they never missed a beat. At breakfast this morning I walked passed familiar YMCA faces from across the globe; catching up with some of them over pancakes and promising others that we'll "do lunch".

 Importantly, this picturesque site is full of new and young faces. For those who I've talked who say it's their first international YMCA experience, I am excited for them. Things haven't even begun yet and already pockets of new conversations between young people from different continents are starting up all the time. Simple start up questions like "Where are you from?" or "What do you do at the YMCA?" may seem trivial but they are the start of something great. These small steps can take you out of your comfort zone of course. But once you're there you begin to learn about this huge movement through what are sometimes powerful conversations and you begin to see the world through a global lens.

So my advice this week is to step outside your comfort zone and talk to those new faces. It might seem scary to take those steps, but the destination is worth the journey.