Day 8: Closure

I attempted to sit down and write this last night, but couldn't. I can't believe how tired I was... it's been probably 25 years since I can remember anything comparable and that had to something to do with fraternity hazing rituals... I'm sure you can get the idea. Yesterday morning started at 3 am with a Robin Williams "Good Morning Vietnam" announcement over the PA, followed by every blasted "time to leave" theme song you can think of. It actually would have been pretty funny had I been the one who thought of it... in fact, maybe I'll use it during summer camp... now there's a thought. Anyway, I gotta hand it to our Irish hosts. They were full of life and loads of fun. It occurs to me now that this is the first I've mentioned the Irish. Their organization is called Haven, and it was their camp at Christianville where we stayed. They fed us all week, particularly well at dinner time. Anyway, our bus finally pulled out around 5 am, and it was about 6 am before it was light enough to take any pictures. I just posted the last of my pictures to facebook, and they are of Port-au-Prince as we traveled through the city enroute to the airport. We were then herded through the airport, customs, and onto the same plane we flew in on... they were charter flights, and I'm guessing that they stayed in Port-au-Prince all week, which would explain why there were apparently no Delta blankets or pillows on the plane... most of us had taken them with us to donate to Haiti. The flight back to the States was uneventful. We landed in Atlanta, cleared customs, and they let me back into the country. At the hotel I was really appreciative of a strong shower and comfortable bed... two things most of us take for granted every day. As I think back over the experience of the last week, I am grateful for the ways my life has been enriched from the many people I've interacted with... particularly my crew mates Kelly, Tom, Don, Roger, Salim, and Russ... the home owners we built for, and Alix Blaise who came to the build site twice in honor of Robert... it really was an amazing week. And these things are supposed to be amazing weeks. They're designed to be, and you can't help but not have an incredible experience when you work together to serve others. There's a message or a sermon in there somewhere, but I'll save it for another time. I wouldn't want Robert rolling over in his grave! As I was sitting in my tent back in Christianville not long before boarding the bus, I was thinking about all this stuff... how Robert should have had the experience I got to have, and even so, how grateful I am having gone through with it on his behalf. The only thing I could think of to do was take off my Florida Gators t-shirt and throw it on the donation pile. In the next couple weeks or so, someone in Haiti will be wearing a Florida Gators t-shirt, and I hope that they'll wear it proud. I'm pretty sure Robert would've appreciated that. Enough said... Amen.