I'm Coming Home

Just got back from a six country (5 not counting Vatican City) 15 day trip. I'm very tired do to lack of sleep and the wear and tear of traveling. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to have done something like that. Seeing and experiencing the cultures and sites of: Rome, the Swiss Alps, Stuttgart, Berlin, and Paris has just been incredible. I'm blown away by God's provision and protection. My mind has been opened to the world, however, right now it is a mess of flowing thoughts and dreams.

Nine months in Spain has changed the foreign to the norm and has left me wondering what I will return to when I arrive in the U.S. I know I have changed. I believe I am bolder, more capable, more grateful for what I have, and this time away has only increased my desire to see the rest of the world. Coming back to the States as many of my friends finish high school and begin to head off to college, myself included, has left me wondering how my world will change. As many people have told me, people will begin to drift away I will begin to see which young life friends remain. I know this sounds cynical but this is most likely the truth. The roads of life intersect, cross, and then diverge and I guess I'll see who has the same destination.

This afternoon I tried to get my mind around the reality of my return. Nine hours before my flight I still can't fully comprehend it all. I've been anticipating my arrival at the PDX airport ever since I've arrived and seeing my family in person for the first time in nine months, but after that first reunion I can't see what will come.

The goodbyes to my friends in Spain have gone as well as can be expected. I'm horrible at saying goodbye and am sure I'm not the only one who can say that. Here's a composition I wrote two months ago as I began to anticipate my move from my host mom's house.

Hello Goodbye – Ariel Wai (April 28, 2009)

Arrival at the airport.
A breaking of a heart.
A whole new world,
Laughing from the start.

Long walks of desperation,
Calling out through it all.
Tear on first Sunday.
Dawn breaking through the dark.

Led through tile jungles,
By a Colombian guide.
Movies on a Saturday,
Joy building inside.

Dull pains keep coming,
Crushed out by a high,
Of skating on ice.
Holy Spirit by my side.

Time to leave the old new.
Awake late at night.
Just said hello,
Now it’s time to say goodbye.

The first step off the plane at the Portland international airport tomorrow is the period in the last sentence of my Spanish adventure. The second step is capital letter of the first sentence in the next adventure. The future is wide open. I am excited. I cannot see what will come but all I want to do is remember the past; anticipate the future; and live, breathe, and thrive in the present.

I'm coming home.