Hello everyone! Well I am home. I got back into Georgia on Monday morning and what a time of adjustment it has been. I got in at around 7:30am and after seeing that my team made if off to their connecting flights I went to check in at the hotel AIM had set up for leaders to debreif. The next day or so consisted of us talking about our time in our locations, resting and having some down time. I got back to the house in Gainesville Tuesday night and have been sleeping and lounging ever since. It’s been such a weird transition not being with my team or in Swaziland. I miss the people so much and already want to go back! I hope to share with you specific stories over the next few weeks but I have to be honest right now I am still wading through it and processing it all. So for now, I can promise you pictures to come and many stories. I will leave you with this. This is where I am at right now. I wrote this when i got in on Monday. Please stay tuned more will be coming in the next week! In the meantime keep me and my team in your prayers as we are trying to adjust. Also for my suppport. I didn’t raise all that was needed before I left and need to have it payed off before I leave in July. Thanks!
Here’s what I wrote:
Now that I am back in the states I’d love to share a little of my heart with you. The past month with this team has been truly amazing. It has been nothing that I expected and everything that I could have ever wanted or needed. As I sit here writing this I am currently in a well air conditioned hotel, getting ready for leader debrief, on a double bed at about 5:30pm. It’s crazy how things can seemingly change in an instant. I can’t believe I am home.
It is now 11:30pm in Swaziland. I think about Doyle and Tonya(the other leaders) settling in back at the house with the kids. The ambassador team(high school team) had their first day of ministry today, and probably met the kids! I hope they saw my little girl SheShay(that’s how it sounds, not how it’s spelled!) I hope she got a lot of loving and that she serenaded them with her songs and giggles! Oh my heart is heavy for these kids today. What did they do and how are they? I am grateful though that they have a team to come in and love on them!
So here I am back in the states. Touched down around 7am and back into the hustle and bustle we were. It’s funny because for most of the trip we would dream up and imagine what being home would be like. What would be our first meal? Who would we see first? Would we just want to talk about all our experiences right away or maybe just cry because we miss those kids and our team? Well, in my first 10 hours I have had McDonalds for my first meal. (not as good as I was counting on but YAY for sweet tea!) I have talked with my parents and best friends and really find that I can’t even begin to put into words all that I feel or have experienced and already, I miss the people I met like crazy!
I find that I may have dreamt about home in Swazi all the time but here, I will dream about Swazi. It seems that maybe home is a bit more of a loser term now because part of my heart will be in Swazi forever and I really do think, at the risk of sounding cheesy, that home is where the heart is. So, my challenge and the challenge for the team is to keep swazi alive in our hearts and minds and bring the news of what is going there to those around us. Keep the news of Swazi alive, share stories. pictures, videos, tears and laughs no matter how hard it is! To let people know what God did and is doing and remember home in Swazi with the team and with the people there.
I’m glad your home is getting even bigger, sisi. Love ya.
I want some stories!