Home sweet home

"It's a funny thing about coming home, looks the same, smells the same, feels the same. You realized what's changed is you." ~Benjamin Button.

After nearly 20 hours in airplanes we finally landed safe and sound at Raleigh-Durham airport. This was likely the last time all 11 members of team Namibia 2012 would be together in the same place. We were met by Morgan, Parker and Brook's families who greeted us with balloons and signs. After saying goodbye to Brook and Parker we loaded up the Taylor's trailer with the remaining bags and drove over to the Knight's house. From there we would all go our own separate ways: Lauren, Meghan and Katie back to Michigan and Jes, Jill and me back to Charlotte.

As we step back into the lives we left behind, everything is so familiar, but something seems different. Over the next few weeks we'll reconnect with friends, remember our old routines, re-acculturate to our American lives. But the thing that's different is us. Our two weeks in Africa has left an indelible mark on our lives, for some more deeply than for others, but a mark nonetheless. To all our friends back home, I encourage you, challenge you, to please ask us about our trip. We need you to ask and to keep asking as we process all the things that took place these last few weeks. You play a key part in helping us solidify in our minds and communicate the things that God has done during this trip. Be patient with us, but don't think that one conversation is enough either.

Thank you so much for following our adventure these last two weeks. Thanks for all the encouraging comments. And thanks so much for all your prayers and support. I know I keep saying this, but we truly could not have done this trip without you! If following the blog has given you an itch to go yourself, then keep in touch with Fred and Linda because there's sure to be more teams in the future. But for now, I'm signing off for Namibia 2012. Until next time...