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It’s been a few days over a month since I have returned from Swaziland and what a whirlwind! I look back over the last few weeks and it’s easy to feel like I can’t even recall what has happened. In the course of a month alone I have had to say goodbye to 3 groups of people, talk about transition! Saying by to my team in Swaziland as well as the Swazi people was hard to do.
I don’t think I realized just how hard it was until I left and started to do life without them, without being in Swaziland. It’s been fun to keep up with them through email, facebook and random texts but it’s not the same. God has been allowing me time to process and has been bringing things to mind that I need to deal with and think through. It’s hard to explain but after getting back I was having a really hard time. I wanted to talk about it, but I didn’t. Reliving the experiences were good and bad. I realize that talking about it is good and it does help(just like everyone said! lol). More to come on this in the following blogs- stories from Swaziland!
Upon returning to Gainesville, there were SO many changes and I think it really shook me up. Trying to process what happened in Swazi and then get back to “normal” whatever that means. I had to switch gears and begin to think about saying by to my GA family. Wow! After family vacation in the mountains it was time for a little getaway in the mountains with my comife family. We stayed in an amazing cabin the mountains and had a great time talking about the past year, what’s to come and just hanging out with one another! It was a bittersweet time as we prayed for one another and spent time together white water rafting and playing games.
As we left, we headed back to the office to give our supervisors and mentors gifts that we had made them. When we reached we were greeted with a “SURPRISE!” The AIM staff were there to greet us with a pizza party that was full of prayer for each of us, laughs and one last fun time to spend with them.
It was a great time and I felt very grateful for the family that I had made at AIM. I am truly blessed to know them and have worked with them. I headed out on Friday morning (the 31st) and gave my hugs and byes to all my roomates. Iit was a little surreal, and like Africa it probably won’t hit me until a few weeks from now when I am settled into Wheaton and realizing how much I had and that I am doing life without them. But I am sure that God, just as He is doing now, will give me some way to process and think through those tough things that get brought to mind and though it would be hard to re live and talk about some things, it will all be for the best.
What a great year this has been! I am so blessed that God gave me this year as an opportunity for new growth and experiences. My time with AIM is up but my time as a servant and as more of who God has made me will never end. Thanks to all of you who have been following me during this year. I’l still have this blog when I go to Wheaton and hope to update you with what is going on there!
So proud of you Teresa!