Last night we got to the hotel and Jim and Troy got us pizza and drinks - so generous! The kids spent a lot of time on their cell phones and the guys watched a basketball game. I vowed not to get on my cell just yet (well, I did call Jeff :), journaling and reading my bible. Later on we swam and the water was lovely at first, but then a bit cold for Meredith and me. The funny thing is that we can't handle the dry cold of the A/C. We seem to have gotten used to the heat and humidity! We slept very well, though, and awoke at 6am without an alarm. We ate breakfast and were in the lobby ready to go by 8, but the buses filled up and we had to wait another half hour.
Then at the airport they delayed us and we didn't get TO security until 5 minutes before we were supposed to board. When we finally boarded, it was 10:15 and we were supposed to take off at 10:20. Whew! But in spite of our hurry, I felt that God was taking care of us and that there was nothing to fret about. If I have learned one thing on this trip, it's that!
One more thing - I took a picture of Meredith in immigration and an agent told me to erase it. No matter what I did, I couldn't get it to erase!! I kept trying, expecting him to tell me to give him my memory card or even my camera, but thankfully he just let me go, as I promised to delete it. The first thing I did when I got home was keep my word. I downloaded all my pix and then formatted the card- that's the only thing that worked. I have no idea what happened!
In Dallas/Ft. Worth, Ethan and I were in the middle of a conversation I'll tell you about later and as I got onto the train that would take us to our gate, the doors shut between him and me, leaving him stuck there as we left. As the doors started closing, I put my arm in, but it was closing hard on it and not stopping. Everyone else was on the train, and we were just flabbergasted. The same thing happened to an airport employee who had an elderly gentleman in a wheelchair with his elderly wife behind him walking. She got shut out and the employee (young man) looked like he was about to lose his job, saying that had never happened to him before. What was going on?? We weren't worried really, though, and Ethan got there without any problems. The last bit of drama was when I lost my boarding pass, but the attendant reprinted it for me in a matter of seconds.
Reflecting a bit, something I'm going to miss is the transparency and lack of barriers or "walls" (physical and emotional) that I have experienced with our group and others. I can and have hugged and told each teen (and adult) that I love them, without fearing being misunderstood or rejected. Also, with people in the DR - acquaintances and strangers - I have hugged and kissed their cheek. It was obvious that these gestures were welcomed.
Jim has called me several times "Madre Teresa" and I know I will never deserve such a title, but sometimes I wonder what keeps me from being that. That is, what exactly is required to serve God relentlessly and be a servant of His? Letting Him fill me with His Spirit is all - He also gives us the will if we obey.
I have talked several times already with the teens who not only talk about coming back to the DR in 2015, but also about how we can continue this work here in Omaha. Can the youth group sponsor a child from Manna? Can we volunteer at Heartland Hope Mission? What else can we do to keep in contact with Spanish-speaking people? And I want to be a part of all of this!
I think in the future instead of only reading my bible, I'm going to continue this journal, writing my thoughts down, what I read and live, related to my faith, in order to push me and to keep growing.
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