It is good to be back on US soil...and it was quite an adventure getting back! I traveled home on Thursday, February 28th. The first leg of the journey went off without a hitch. First flight went fine. Going through customs and immigration in Miami was a long process but went just fine...fortunately I had ample time in my layover. It was looking to be a pretty uneventful day of travel. Then there was the flight from Miami to Philly. We all boarded the plane, taxied to the runway, and started down the runway gaining speed, all was normal. Then, just when I thought we were about to take off, we slowed down and came to a halt. The passengers all looked around at each other wondering what was going on. It turns out one of our breaks was dragging. So the pilot started taxiing us back to the gate to get it checked out. On the way back to the gate our automatic steering also stopped working. Not good. So they had to stop short of the gate and have a maintenance crew tow us the rest of the way in. After a bit of a wait they determined that the plane was not suitable to fly. So we all disembarked from the plane and waited at the gate while they check to see if they had an available, non-broken plane for us. Thankfully, they did! We all headed to our new gate, waited for a while there and eventually boarded our healthy plane. By the time it was all said and done I didn't land in Philly until almost 3:30am! Which meant that I was back at my apartment around 5:30! All in all, I'm glad to be home and very thankful that they caught the plane's issues before we took off!
It is good to be home. I am filled with gratitude for things that I took very much for granted: being able to flush my toilet paper, for example (in the DR you can't because it would clog the toilet...I won't go into any further detail...you get it). This trip, particularly the time spent at the refugee camp, has put a lot into perspective for me. The things that caused me stress before I left are still present (my burdens are still my burdens, my life is still my life) but nothing sizes things up quite like spending time with hungry children. My "problems" are so trivial compared to so much of the world. I am so full of gratitude for the life that I have been given! I am still trying to process what all of this means for how I live the rest of my life...there's almost a sense of guilt when I sit down to a good meal and can't even finish all of it...knowing that there are so many out there who don't know where their next meal is coming from. But I know guilt doesn't solve anything. Now that I am back it is easy to feel so removed from all of that. Sometimes the problems just seem so big and the gap between our worlds so wide that it becomes overwhelming. So I am searching for wisdom. I am looking for smart and sustainable ways to help...I have some things in the works...so keep tuned! My realization and my confession to come out of all of this is that I am selfish. I'm really selfish. We live in a culture that is very isolated and results-focused and has a mentality that encourages self-centeredness. I don't want to be selfish anymore. I want to live my life with a constant cycle of being filled with love and pouring it back out again. I would certainly covet your prayers during this time of growth and refocusing! I love you all!
Cheers!
