On Monday night, our final night in the village, the people of Brisas del Mar prepared a special goodbye for us, as is their usual way of saying "thank you and until next time." As we sat down, waiting for the program to begin, the community filtered in. I have now been there three times, and this goodbye program was packed to the fullest I have ever seen. There were certainly no seats left, and quite honestly. there wasn't much standing room left, either. It was beautiful and exciting to see. THIS is why we come. For these people.
The last night is always hard for me. I tend to get slightly more quiet because the beauty of the week, the lessons I'v learned, the friendships I have deepend are so rich and I am working through those emotions. I am never ready to leave, because every time I prepare to go home, I leave a tiny piece of my heart there. (ok, actually, a large part of my heart) But also the goodbye night is beautiful and fun. And so I wanted to enjoy the last moments and not be sad.
And so I watched the kiosk area fill with the community, many faces we had never even seen. When the program began, we really enjoyed what took place. Pastor Javier had created a series of little plays, which involved the younger kids to the older of the village. To see all ages involved was special. Following the short acts was a comedian, who spoke super fast. It wasn't that I didn't understand him, but the jokes he was telling seemed to be "inside jokes" to the village. They didn't make any sense to us. Whatever he was saying made the community laugh, sounds I won't forget, as their laughter is beautiful, which made us laugh. And lastly, they performed some beautiful dances.
The dances also ranged from the younger ladies of the village to the oldest ladies in the village. I loved seeing it all come together. Age didn't matter. Language didn't matter. Skin color didn't matter. The evening was beautiful. At the end of their dance performance, they each grabbed one of our hands and brought us into the dance. While I can't dance worth a a penny, it was a blast. Smiling and laughing and not caring who was watching... we just had a beautiful time. It ended with Mike and one of the older ladies dancing with the rest of us circled around them.
We closed our night with a group devotion, where we all shed many tears. Happy tears, of moments recalled from the week, along with sad tears, hard to say goodbye. Bonds were created.
As we entered the next morning, the day of our departure, we enjoyed coffee and breakfast. The goodbyes were hard, as they always are. It's hard to explain the bonds we develop there. The community is so loving and beautiful. We go to serve, but I think we leave far more changed by their lives than we change theirs. We hugged, we cried, and we took lots of last minute photos. And then it was time to go. As we were all settled on the bus and we were pulling away, we always wave out the windows at the people, as they stand with teary eyes as well. Only as we were pulling away, they didn't seem to be in their normal spots. I just figured they had things to do. But as we drove forward, a hundred yards later (or less) the bus stopped. Curious, we all looked ahead to see why...
And the village had formed a human chain across the road. They were blocking the road so we could not leave. (As if I were not crying enough already. ) Oh, how this village has stolen my heart. And I leave a little piece there more every time.
Once they broke their human chain, Pastor Javier got back on the bus to share a few words. He spoke to us with a heart both full and sad, the same as ours. He shared special words. He said that as they formed their chain and tried to keep us there, really he knows that we have ministries and lives at home and it was time for us to return to home and use our gifts there. But that they would be praying for us.
They pray for us.
My family in Brisas del Mar.... until the next trip....
I close with this last piece to share. People ask me why I go back. Some ask why I use my vacation hours to do hard work. Others want to know why I go to a place that has, well... nothing. But it has become my second home; they have become my family. There I found healing in my heart and hope for the future. I went to change their lives but really, they have changed mine. And each time I grow in a new way, come back a little more reshaped, more challenged. I love to see how they grow- physically but spiritually, too. And I love that for now, this is a calling on my life as much as being a wife, a mom, and a marathon employee are.
A few of my favorite random photos from the trip....
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| Jay and Leonardo singing "We Are the World" |
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| The group in Alto de Julio |
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| Paula, me, and Milena |
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| LOVE this photo of the community surrounding us during the goodbye night |
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| We drank coconut water straight from the coconuts off the tree |
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| This was cool... they formed a line, and one guy up in the tree threw coconuts down and then they passed them down the line for us to have fresh coconut water |
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