The Final Chapter - Reminiscing

You would think it would end there, but it doesn’t. When I got home Ben had left a wonderful letter for Jay and I. It was great, and shared his feelings about how he really felt about his trip to Colorado. The next night I was eating alone with the dogs and my phone rang. It was Ben calling from Florida on a friend’s phone. He said he missed me a lot and missed “home”. Even a few days later he called again from Africa and I talked to his wonderful girlfriend, Faith. Since then Ben and I text once a day and have become really close friends… sharing life challenges.
There are some things you realize in the moment. I realized that they were friends and even family. However, even if you realize something, there is a big difference between knowing it and feeling it. With the emails, the phone calls, the effort into staying in touch makes me feel it. I can tell you that the ending words of this blog may not be very impacting or life changing, but this experience has been one for me that I have done my best to put into words.
I am a different person in some little ways. Spending 3ish days with complete strangers, having them turn into family, and saying goodbye hours later has made me into a better person.
Yes, I blessed them with food, shelter and fun times. But they blessed me with so much more than they will ever know. You see, hosting is hard work. Cooking, cleaning, shopping, driving… the list goes on. I am exhausted. But the greatness of being a blessing makes up for all the hard times. I am so blessed to be able to serve in this capacity.
Thank you for reading and sharing my experience. Leave a comment if you visit… I would love to hear what you have to say about my New Friends Adventure. Oh, and I am hosting some little kids from Tanzania next month, so stay tuned for more about that!