Once again I lost an entire blog entry this morning and had to retype everything. I was the last one to the breakfast table because of it. But I was welcomed and sat right down with the rest of the team. We all lagged at the table since we knew that we were headed to the airport and three of us were going to be departing the rest of the team to fly back to San Diego.
When I got back to the room to pack the last of my belongings no one was in the room and I had to go back to prop the room door open just so I could hear Vicky and Derek talking in the hallway. The hardest thing about leaving is disbanding this community. We met Juanchi, Rambo, and Renzo in the lobby and packed up the van.
When we pulled into the airport I asked to say a quick prayer. We had already asked for traveling mercies for the American team when we headed back to Santo Domingo yesterday. I had wanted to ask blessings for the DR staff since they had given us so much during our stay here. I'm not the best at spoken prayer, but I had been putting it together in my head, so I was prepared.
After that, it was into the airport. We hugged each other several times (mainly because we kept thinking that we had reached the check point where the others couldn't follow) to say goodbye. Finally Vicky, Caitlin and I really had to say goodbye. I'm really glad there were three of us. We took off around noon.
The flight to JFK was great because we were all able to sit together. We played trivia and just talked about what we were looking forward to and were going to miss. It was hard arriving and seeing the arrogance in people around us. This is something that has always bothered me in people, but I just assumed I was overly sensitive to it. I was glad that this past week brought the awareness to Caitlin and Vicky so I had someone to lean on through that stress. We had a little bit of a dinner at the airport and then boarded our flight back to San Diego. This time Caitlin's seat was about 4 rows back and across the isle. It was such a bummer to have to fly five and a half hours without getting to sit together. We kept waving at each other. (I'm sure the other passengers hated us.)
We arrived back in San Diego at about 9:40pm. I talked to my roommate a little bit about the trip, had a bit to eat, unpacked my bags, put everything away and climbed into bed. This is where I am now writing to you from. I don't know what tomorrow holds as I jump back into my life. It is strange not being able to look to one side and always having someone there to talk to. I've been shoulder to shoulder with people for 12 days on flights, in taxies, around the table, lounging for devotions, on the bus, in the vans, at the schools with 3 children hanging on each arm.... I know I will see my friends here in San Diego in the next few days and I know that in less than a week I'll be flying up to Seattle for the COTN Conference. But for now, I miss them all.
I wish I had the pictures already and could flip through them again. As I sit here on my bed, I can't help but feel that it was all a dream. San Diego continued existing and everything here is just as I left it almost as if I had never left at all. I keep looking at the beautiful blue Larimar bead on my bracelet and it makes me smile to know that it all really did happen. These are true and genuine feelings and I am so much more blessed by having experienced them.
I want to dive into my work with COTN. I keep pressing on to the day when COTN is my only job and I don't have to partner my focus with all the other things that eat up my time. It's hard to believe that this trip was work. I have a few more goals now. I want to learn Haitian Creole, I want to have gotten into Haiti within a year from now, and I want to visit every country with COTN. There is so much life to be lived!
Muchas gracias for reading my blog and por favor continue to follow throughout the rest of my adventures with this budding organization. Peace and blessings to you all! Buenos noches!
After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. -- Acts 15:33
I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. -- Ezekiel 34:26
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