Here
is the continuing story of our mission trip to Guatemala. . .
Saturday (7/27/13)
I got up around
the normal time this morning, showered, and went down to do my devotions. I had
done most of my packing last night, so I finished the rest of it this morning.
After that, I hung around in the front room with T who was waiting for M to
take him to the airport (he’s going to Costa Rica for a few days.)
M was running
late, so we went ahead and sang “Rise and Shine,” prayed, and dug into our
cereal and cookies. M finally arrived and we waved goodbye to him and T.
While we
waited for the bus to come, we played some card games and I called home and
talked with Mom. Then it was time for goodbyes. L Saying goodbye is so hard. A came by
the house again. Even though we can’t communicate much, we still felt a
connection. I would love to get to know her better.
F’s wife
dropped him off. I’m really going to miss her too. I really connected with her.
I love K and P too! Saying goodbye to M (the cook) and O (the Pastor’s wife)
was bittersweet. I’m really going to miss everyone.
N, D, F, and
S came with us to the airport. On the ride to the airport, I talked some with N
about D.C. and what he’s studying at George Mason. He’s pretty quiet, but friendly.
I also talked with F about college. He wants to go back to school, but it would
mean a lot of time away from his family. I told him about College Plus and he
said he wished they had something like that in Guatemala.
We got to the
airport, unloaded everything and took a few more pictures. Goodbye hugs went
all around. S said to make sure we keep in touch on social media.
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Ben and me with S, D, and N at the
airport.
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We all
checked in and started filling out customs forms. I lost count of how many
times we had to go through a screening checkpoint. Once we got back to the
terminal, we bought lunch. I bought a chicken Panini with plantain chips and a
strawberry banana smoothie. I tried some of Ben’s Bianca Mocha Frappe. J
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Trying the Bianca Mocha Frappe. I
posed for the picture, but grimaced just afterward. I still don’t like coffee,
whether we share the same name or not. J
|
We hung
around and played a few games of spoons at the airport. I tried to journal a
bit.
 |
Playing spoons at the airport. It just
wasn’t quite the same. You really need metal spoons, a table, and the freedom
to scream when you play spoons. J
|
There were 2
other missions groups on our flight. Pastor D and I sat in an exit row with an
empty seat. We enjoyed the leg room! Our flight was a little turbulent, but not
bad. I finished my devotions, journaled, and napped awhile.
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Leaving beautiful Guatemala.
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We landed on
time in Houston and headed for customs with about 1,000 other people. The line
moved quickly, but it was still a long wait. Thankfully we had no troubles. We collected
our bags to take them through security again. After several more check points,
we made it through. Poor H had her hat searched twice today!
We went to
buy dinner at the food court. I bought a meatball sandwich at Subway. Before I
ate, I borrowed Pastor D’s phone to call home. I talked with Mom for awhile. I
started to choke up. I just miss everyone in Guatemala so much. Leaving new
friends is always so hard for me.
After we ate,
we all met up at our crowded gate. Thankfully our flight wasn’t full. The seat
next to me was empty for awhile. Then a girl from another missions team sat
next to me so she could play cards with the kids behind me. I journaled during
the short flight.
We landed
safely and made it out to baggage claim. I texted Dad to find out if he was
picking us up at the church. Mom called and quickly said not to leave with the
team. They were only 10 minutes away. Apparently our flight landed early. J It was still a nice surprise,
especially for Ben (who didn’t know.) They had made “Welcome Home” signs for
us. We had hugs all around and pictures.
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My sweet family. J
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Then it was
time to say goodbye to the rest of the team members. L I’ve come to love each and every one
of them this week. Mrs. B said “I love you” as we hugged. She made a great Mom
for the week. J
On the drive
home, we talked almost non-stop about the trip. I took the time to catch up on
Instagram. It was so good to have follow requests from the young people in
Guatemala!
We got home
around midnight. I skipped showering and went right to bed. It was about 1 a.m.
I had a hard time falling asleep with my mind spinning so fast. It also seemed
really bright and hot in my room. I woke up in the middle of the night with one
of the worst Charlie Horses ever! It left me limping the next morning.
To be continued . . .
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