Sunday, January 31, 2010

Afterwards

We arrived in Dulles around 4:00 p.m. on the 21st. I don’t remember the ride back to Bridgewater because I slept the whole way- through snow, sleet, ice, and every other fun winter weather we didn’t miss while we were in Burma. We arrived in Bridgewater at 6:30- where I showered and headed to the basketball game to see the dance team perform. I barely remember this, but at least I could say I was there=)

I think everyone had horrible jet lag for days afterward- Saturday morning I woke up at 5:00 a.m., logged onto Facebook, and was highly amused to find all my friends who had traveled over interterm (Burma, Israel, Europe) up and online. Thus, while the rest of the world slept, we conversed via internet and shared stories of our journeys bright and early on a Saturday morning.

As a result of our experiences with the people of Burma, NCP left over $1,000 with contacts in the hilltribe area in order to buy sewing machines and training for the women of hilltribe villages. We also left a monetary gift with Karen leaders in Pathein to contribute toward another loom for the weaving program. We have high hopes to be able to raise enough funds to help send Nargis children back to school this coming year. Even $10,000 is only a fraction of the funds it will take to begin the school year, every little bit helps and this is what we remember in all we do.

In the days since my return home, I find that indeed we do fall back into our lives, much as we did before. In some ways, I regret this- the rush and the distractions that we allow to make us forget the far-away in the moment of “now.” It’s different though- because I know now the world is a bigger place than my bubble of life in
Bridgewater. And while I regret the press of responsibilities and rush of life sometimes, I also know that we cannot run from it- our lives are given to us with many gifts. Ours are different from our neighbors- whether next door or in faraway lands, but they are still gifts. It is our outlook that shapes what we make of them- our choice on how we use them. I find that I rarely look at a clock since my return, sometimes forgetting to wear a watch altogether, and I forget- whether purposeful or not, to wear makeup everyday. I also journal more, to write down my thoughts instead of simply forgetting the moment. I find it refreshing as well as a good way to look at them in a new light. One could say Burma didn’t really change me all that much, as these things are not anything to alter my lifestyle, but I would argue otherwise. Everything that happens to us shapes us in one way or another, without this we would never grow. I don’t know really what it all means yet, but I think this experience was one to open my eyes to the world around me and appreciate that even though the world is much bigger than I could ever imagine, God still cares for each one of us. It’s up to us to extend this message and care for each other.

Thus, my first venture out of the country wasn’t to a common location like Canada or Mexico, nor was it a relaxing sightseeing cruise or tourist vacation. Perhaps I overshot the norm in going all the way to Burma but why not? God takes you places you never imagine but when you find yourself there, you often realize it was where you were meant to be all along.

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