coming back home...settling into the everyday

We have been home almost a week, and facebook is alive with photo tags, inside jokes, and memories of the fastest 10 days in all of life.  How did our days go so quickly?

Today I chipped the last of the blue paint that was left on my watch, I felt like this was the appropriate time to close up our Guatemala Blog for the year! 

When you embark on this journey with Teenagers, Inc. you become apart of a community, that no longer sees the world the same way when you started. We often say "Not all young people would do this" or "Giving up ten days of your summer, that's admirable"  There's a famous quote that says: 

Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

As 16 (and up) year olds we have picked the road less traveled, we have picked a path that might not lead to 10 nights of celebration, but 10 nights of reflection on how we made an actual difference in a child's life.  Service trips come around more often now than they did 6 years ago, when we first started, many people have completed them and done similar things, but the kind of direct hands on work that the young participants of this team have done are different than anything else, because we built a house, that will last for 40 years, we go back ever year and we develop a rapport, with the children and staff at the Dreamer Center.  Charms hang around our neck to remind us of our 10 days, all the cement that we mixed, all the nails that it took to frame our house, the hot sun and rain that we worked in, and this year the earthquake that we felt. Our charms also remind us that we are so lucky to have had the experience, and we will be forever changed! For the people that have been on this trip more than once, our charms represent the community we have built! 

Coming home for a lot of us has been an adjustment, We are reminded of the things we left behind, and the things we have to do before we head off to college, or for the next adventure, or just complete before Monday. Coming home also means,recounting the hilarious moments, with your families and friends.  It means that we get unlimited, uninterrupted access to Wifi, your cell phone, and email.  It also means that your time in Guatemala is over, and you'll have to wait a whole year, for this to happen again! 

Service Challenge: Keep helping others, be an active member of Teenagers, inc., if your going to college join your community service club, and keep service in your heart all year round, and get ready for GUATEMALA 2015!!! 

THANK YOU!