A year ago today, I had just arrived in El Salvador. I was scared, excited, and has no idea what I had just gotten myself into. I was in for the best and hardest year of my life.
On December 3rd, 2012 our plane touched down in New York City after 11 months of traveling the world. All 30 of us cheered, cried, laughed. I am sure we were very annoying to everyone else, but I have learned that E squad is just as loud and inconspicuous in America as they are anywhere else in the world.
The last week of the Race with in Hyderabad, India where our entire squad was together for final debrief. It was full of both dread of leaving behind everything, but excitement for what was next.
When my plane finally landed in Bigfork, Montana I was mostly too tired to feel anything. I had slpet maybe 10 hours that entire week and I had about 12 hours’ worth of jetlag. It was a time of both rejoicing, seeing my family and friends after almost a year, but it was also a time of mourning of losing the family that I had for the last 11 months.
I have been avoiding blogging for over a month, because I don’t really know how to put into words what I feel or how to sum up what happened in the last year. It will take more than a blog and more than a passing, “So, how was your trip?” my new least favorite question.
This year I have learned so much about the world, and about myself. I have seen more than I had ever imagined. I have held children in Africa, prayed for healing in the streets of India, and I am Facebook friends with Thai prostitutes. I have had my heart broken, and I thank God every day for it. I cannot believe He chose someone like me to be His hands and feet. I have never felt so alive and I am so grateful to God and all of the people who have walked alongside me in this journey.
I set out to change the world, but in the end, the world changed me.
And as for what's next, well, stay tuned…
