At times I have been frustrated with the nature of this trip. I thought the constant goodbyes were desensitizing me.
Tonight, I was proved differently. Tomorrow we leave for Antigua,
Guatemala to meet up with the entire squad. We are ending the journey
we have lived for the past 5 weeks and moving into our final 3 weeks.
The past weeks have not always been easy, but God has put us in the
path of incredible people. Tonight we said one of the hardest goodbyes
of the trip. We left our Army friends that we have spent the last 2
weeks with.
These men and women are some of the most remarkable people I know –
and that is saying a lot. We met them on a small island off the coast
of Honduras. From day one they have been genuine, authentic, selfless
and welcoming. We loved them so much and we knew the Lord crossed our
paths for a reason, so after parting on the island, we headed in the
direction of their base in Comayagua. We spent the last week hanging
out with them there.
They came into town at night to hang out with us, they bought us
dinner, they worked like crazy to secure umpteen signatures allowing us
to come on base, they gave us a tour of their jobs and lives on post.
They are black hawk and Chinook pilots. They taught us all about their
planes and let us sit in the pilot’s seat. They let us hang out in
their “hooches” (homes) while they were at work. They gave us a place
to do our laundry and take a hot shower. They let us join them on their
fantastic adventures. But all of these things cannot begin to portray
how amazing they are. And way beyond any of those things, they simply
loved us in ways we can’t describe, better then we love each other
sometimes. They were a little piece of home to us. We would come home
at night and talk about how nice they were. They would do anything for
us and we would do anything for them.
So, we could not have asked the Lord for a more amazing time.
Comayagua is not necessarily a place that attracts visitors, but there
is nowhere else I would have chosen to be. Our boys have made this
place perfect. To see the way these guys live; to see the way they give
up so much to serve our country; to see the way Christ is unlocking
things inside of them; and to just be around a remarkable group of
people – I couldn’t be more thankful.
We
walked to the bus tonight, laughing, talking, holding hands – not
wanting this to end. But after several rounds of long, tight hugs we
boarded the bus back to town. Once there, we walked down the streets in
silence, feeling the heaviness of the parting that just took place, but
knowing that we will keep in touch; we will see them again.
Thank you guys (and Rachael) for being you and for letting us into your lives. Thank you for what you have taught me.
written on April 7, 2008
