you know when you went to youth camp. they split you up from your best friends and threw you into groups with total strangers. you had no idea what to expect. but after the first few hours those strangers become fast friends, and before you know it, it’s time to go home.
in my inbox sits somewhere around 47 emails (most of them “reply to all”) from our group that went to uganda. of us talking about how we are all waking up at 12:30 am and staying up until 3 am. about how we’re struggling to adjust, but knowing reentry is all a part of it. about eclipses, crying, blogging, and…missing each other.
we went through a lot in a few short days. hundreds of children latching on to us. heads busted open. mosquitoes. meeting our sponsor children. eating weird things. bats. monkeys. aids clinics. no sleep. probably 900 bottles of water. kampala traffic. home visits. mothers. babies. stowaways. coke light. deet.
now that we’re all back home, it’s not the same.
my heart has been aching in so many ways. today, it aches for missing these amazing people.
(this picture was taken at lunch our last day in uganda. prossy is the beautiful woman in the middle. you can meet her here).
Comments
11 responses to “it’s like youth camp all over again”
I have the same feeling every monday. I have a bunch of good friends at a rehab place I go see every monday but the rest of the week I can’t talk to them. Strange feeling wanting to email or pick up the phone and call them with some news and can’t
seemed like i was with my team for weeks and weeks after we got home. we did everything together. that was the perk of going with folks who all live here and go to church here. i am praying for you as you miss your new friends. these people experienced things with you that no one can fully understand unless they’ve seen it themselves, and i know that’s hard. you’re probably feeling somewhat alone because of that. i love you.
Beautiful picture my friend!
Anne, your boss is coming to my church next weekend, you need to come along so I can meet you!
looks like am amazing bunch of peeps and loads of fun!
I KNOW! I miss everybody so much.
I miss everybody too. SO much.
Man, I look good…I mean, I miss everyone too.
Ahhh I just started crying again!! Miss you!
Awesome looking group! A perfect pic of love and compassion! Thanks for sharing, Anne!
as adults we don’t have enough “youth camp” experiences…we are always guarded.