Home

This morning I woke up early. Really early. I didn't sleep too well last night, and really haven't slept well for a few nights now. But I was up early again, and so I went upstairs to help Cristian start the day. Angela, One of the Young Life leaders from San Martin, was already there. She had volunteered to help Cristian settle in and get the apartment ready for Christen. The three of us made breakfast together, and then we came up with a plan. Cristian would go to the hospital and pick up his wife, Angela would clean the upstairs apartment, and I would clean my apartment downstairs, and we'd be ready for Christen when she got home.

About mid-morning Manolo and Marcelo came by the house. I had promised them at camp that we would go out for lunch and get ceviche. But they recognized that Angela and I were both busy, and offered to help Angela upstairs. When I finished my apartment, I joined the others, and we finished cleaning in no time at all. The boys even made fresh squeezed orange juice for Christen.

Later, several of the other boys from camp came by to go eat ceviche, but Christen and Cristian still weren't home, and I felt like I really needed to wait for them. Eventually, Manuel, the boys' leader, called Cristian to find out how long they would be. It turned out we had just enough time to run and get the ceviche and take it back to my apartment. Christen had just gotten home when we got there, and the boys went up to greet her while I got out dishes and poured the Pepsi. We spent the rest of the afternoon and much of the evening sitting around my living room playing guitar, singing Young Life songs, and watching Youtube videos.

Christen is home now, and doing well. It turns out that she had been hit by a buswhile driving the van. The pictures looked pretty bad. But her only injuries were from the whiplash and from hitting her head. She was well protected. We're all working together to keep an eye on her, to make sure that she's safe. She's supposed to rest for the next couple days. Right now she and some friends are upstairs watching a movie. We're just glad we still have her. And we're glad she's home.

As for me, recently I've been thinking a lot about home. It's been a really difficult two weeks. I've felt a lot of loneliness, fear, anxiety, and inadequacy. And being far from home doesn't make that easier. I'm really beginning to miss my family and friends. And the exhaustion from camp is setting in after all the activity of the day.

I miss home. But, I have to remind myself that I am in the process of making a new home, and gaining new family. And I can find hope in that.