Hey! I'm back from China! Sorry I haven't been blogging lately. I've missed it but blogspot is blocked in China and I just didn't feel like using th other one, it was hard to use. Anyway I have so much to write about everything.
It is sooo good to be back in Kona and see my good friends again. I missed them so much, and it's just wonderful hanging out with them and hearing all their amazing stories from their different travels.
I really can't wait to go back home to Washington though. I really, really miss everybody so much. I miss dill pickles. And couches. And having a house big enough to be alone. And my pets. And seasons. (well, China has seasons, but I was there during winter. Winer sucks. That doesn't count.)
But I'm almost home. I'm yearning to come back yet I want these past few days visting with my friends here (and the Alarcio's on Honalulu in a few days!) to pass by slowly and sweetly. I want to savor every last moment.
I want to describe coming back to campus first since it's so recent and fresh in my brain. I got to the airport after long flights, and I was so out of it. I felt almost like my body was buzzing. I felt so weird. I'm one of those unusual people that no matter how tired I am, I just cannot fall asleep on planes. After a twelve hour plane ride, then a six hour one, plus the airport time in between, and the jet lag, I was super tired. Anyway I got to the airport and I saw the Mozambique team, who I didn't know was gonna be there to greet us. I was super surprized and stolked to see them again, but I was so out of it I felt like I was too in shock to really take it in. Everybody started squealing and hugging eachother, and I actually might've shed some tears, but I can't remember.
It seemed like forever to get in our vans and get all our bags back (the wheels fell off one of mine) and get back, and find out what rooms on campus we were supposed to stay in, or whether some people had to stay in a hotel. When we got to the campus there was a warm breeze, and I could feel it brushing against my legs and arms and sandal-feet. It felt strange and wonderful to have my skin not be covered by so many layers anymore. I could smell flowers and see everything around me so familiar, and it felt so different then China.
There were people greeting more people and standing around talking, but I didn't feel like doing anything like that. I just kinda nervously paced all over campus, feeling so weird and overwhelmed by everything. All these feelings of missing China, and realizing how much I've changed, and how much everything felt so different even in such a familier place, plus not sleeping for a day in a half, all just seemed to hit me at the same time. I didn't know what to do with myself.
I finally went to the prayer room, where it always makes me feel so happy and peaceful. I stepped in and saw several people scattered about reading their bible or praying, and there was worship music playing softly in the backround. It felt so sacred in there, but warm and welcoming at the same time. I went outside, and heard somebody silently playing guitar in the grass faraway worshiping. I popped back in for a minute, taking it all in... People were worshiping and praying so freely, everywhere, and you could feel God's presence thickly all over. It was something I didn't feel in China, where you have to be careful where you worhip and what you talk about, and there aren't hundreds of people worshiping and praying all the time in one place. It was so overwhelming and wonderful. I hate to admit to crying, but I'm pretty sure I cried.
Later that night when I got back to my usual self, Faith and I went out to Denny's around 1 AM and shared stories with some of the Mozambique people about what happened in the different places we were in. It was just a time of joy. And laughing over all the funny stories both of our teams had. And oh, the food! The food was sooo good. Anyway after we got back we probably stayed up till like 4 AM... And then I slept in till like 3 PM on Sunday. I was out of it.
I was happy to find that I was back in a room with all my old roomates I had during lecture phase. None of them were on the China team and I missed them sooo much. Only Dahea was home so far, and I was so happy to see her, and couldn't wait to see the rest of them.
Throughout Saturday all the rest of the teams came home. I was asleep when Africa and New York came home so I randomly popped into them one-by-one during the evening. Then at 7:30 PM, Saturday all of us went down and waited for the last team to come, Brazil. When they came all of our class was finally together again and we just all hugged and yelled and hugged some more. It was incredible.
Monday started with morning worship. Everybody gathered into the Ohana Court (the big area) on campus and we all sang and it sounded so amazing. It felt incredible to be worshiping with so many people again and with so much freedom. Class was great, lunch was eh, afternoon I felt like crap. Took a nap, got some fluids and ibuprofen into my system...
Then was ministry night. Every Monday night on campus we all go to the prayer room and worship together. Everybody goes absolutely nuts and it's the most amazing feeling ever. There's about a hundred or so people crowded in the room, jumping up and down, but it sounds like a thousand people singing. It's the loudest sound ever, pulsing through your whole being, and you feel the vibrations of people dancing and jumping about coming from the floor to your feet. But the loud sound doesn't hurt your ears. It just surrounds you and moves you like being under the surface of the ocean when a big wave hits. The piano player started going off and playing by ear making up this new song in the middle of everything, the exact thing that I love to do, and the whole music team all started improvising and making all these new melodies that just fit perfectly. It feels like you're getting this teeny-tiny peak of what heaven will be like, and it makes me so exited.
It's like when so many people are gathered in the same place. And they've all been reunited after this huge life changing thing. After we've all been all over the world, so far away. And we all come back together and realize all of what we've done, and all we'll continue to do, is for the same reason; this incredible, amazing God who loves so much. We all come together in the place and we all sing at the top of our lungs and just surround ourselves with beautiful music and sounds and rythm, all so spontanious at times but never wrong. It sounds so perfect. And feels so perfect. It's like God is the very air you breathe and when you feel him that much it's like you realize you're so done with breathing dirty air, and all you want to breathe now is Jesus.
Anyway, yeah... I'm back in Kona and feeling so revived.
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