Home, Bittersweet, Home.....

Our team in front of the team house, where we stayed for the week,  on our last day in Jarabacoa.

We all made it home safe and sound late last night. While it was great to hug our families and pets, take a nice hot shower and sleep in our own beds, there is still something bittersweet about being home again. Every single one of us were changed in some way by this trip and we all fell in love with so many people that we left behind in the Dominican Republic. As I sit looking through pictures today I find my heart feeling overwhelmed at how quickly you can deeply love a person that doesn't even speak the same language. All of you following this blog, I challenge you to take some time to listen to the personal stories of someone on the team. Learn the stories behind the faces in the pictures and try to open your eyes and heart to the vastness of the world that is past our own communities. In turn, our team will try to share carefully and lovingly, as many of us have realized that our priorties need to be completely rearranged. We realize that it is hard to grasp the understanding of what we have felt, seen, heard, smelled, hugged and kissed without actually being a part of the trip. Each of us is praying about what our "next step" will be now that we are home so that this trip doesn't become just 9 days out of our lives that we look back on and say "remember when...". We want this trip to change how we love and serve and pray and as we ease back into our comfortable lives we will have to be intentional to not let our broken hearts mend completely. We ask for continued prayers as we process everything and get back to our regular routines.

Since the internet connection didn't allow for as many blog posts as I would have liked I am going to go back and create a blog for the rest of the days so that all of you can still see some pictures and stories of our trip. Thank you all for all of your prayers and support. It means so much!