One would think that the last day when all we have to do is board a plane it would be uneventful. Not so.
After a good breakfast we headed to the airport. As we are on the road to go we have to go through a checkpoint. At this checkpoint they made our buses pull over. An officer comes to our bus, our bus driver gets out, and the officer steps up in our bus smiling and says something to us in Spanish, to which we all looked at him with a deer in the headlights look since we did not know Spanish and we did not have an interpreter with us. Thankfully Hosias, the camp director also stopped the van to come help us out. Turns out it was something to do with a permit from the bus company but we all did have a minor panic attack thinking we aren't going home today.
Once we got to the airport things went about as expected. I was able to buy some snacks for the kids to try, and get a cup of coffee. The airport was small, I want to say they had maybe 3 or 4 gates? But it was not anywhere near as crowded as I expected. I guess that happens when you are used to Tampa or Orlando airports.
During take off I took time to write a little in my journal, the down time gave me some time to think and start processing things. I had been asked a few nights prior how my expectations of the trip had been met or changed. I really didn't have much to say. But as I sat there and thought about how every aspect of the trip was I realized what my take away was.
The people there, were set up in communities, sharing things. The homes, especially on the mountain, were set up with several groups of homes close together. When we gave out food to the families, they were selected based off of someone in the community identifying the biggest needs in the families at that time.
Those members of our missions team took vacation time to come to work in a 3rd world country. The passion I saw in so many was incredible as this was not their first time there, they came back to give more. The authenticity of these people was real. I met one man who's family left the US to start a feeding program there. He left the safety, security, and comfort of what we have here, to go live with the people he is so passionate about.
My take away was that I have never seen anything closer to the actual church in Acts as I did on this trip.
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