Readjusting...

A little African monkey in the trees by the lake.

I've been back a few days now and am still not sleeping through the night. Not sure if it's persistent jet lag or something else. I can't seem to get organized or decide if I even need to get organized.

My journey home was notable for a couple of things. Both occurred on the flight from Johannesburg to London and both reminded me of how much so many of us take for granted.

The passenger seated next to me was a South African woman. I'm guessing she was 10-15 years older than I am, and she was both leaving South Africa and flying for the first time. Although her primary language was Afrikans, she did know a little English. She had never fastened the type of seatbelt used in air travel. She was fascinated at the little TV screen in the seatback in front of her and delighted with the headphones and controller as well as the little airplane meals. She had dressed stylishly with a scarf and jewelry. She was also quite unnerved when we hit some mild turbulence but calmed quickly when I told her to pretend it was just a bumpy road. This woman had not seen her brother in 22 years and was on her way to Philadelphia to spend 3 months with him and his family. I saw her getting through security at Heathrow to get her next flight and pray she has a joyous reunion and an excellent adventure.

I had a window seat on this flight and was unable to close the panel to block out the light because it was stuck. A little annoying, but not a real problem because it was an overnight flight. At one point I woke up and looked out the window, which I would not have done had the panel closed properly. The cabin lights were off, so it was dark inside and out, with no reflection on the window pane. What I saw was spectacular. We were flying above the cloud layer so the horizon was below us. There was a dome of black sky and stars that appeared three instead of two dimensional. I could see brilliant stars from my little window when I looked down on the horizon, forwards, rearwards or upwards. I had already been spoiled by the view of the Milky Way from the dark nights in our area of Africa, but this was dreamlike. I must have stared out that little window for half an hour mesmerized and contemplating my smallness.

Grace and Casey's journey home was notable for delays at the beginning and at the end of their trip that resulted in their being on the plane for over seventeen hours instead of the planned nine.

As I readjust to what is the luxury of my life here, with my sweet husband, my good job, my comfortable home, healthy family and spoiled pets, I can't help but think of the people who came to us needing care. There was the boy with the infected burns on his arm that needed antibiotics and wound care. Another boy who had received stitches in his hand after being chopped by a hoe while chasing field mice. They were terribly infected and the redness and pus had extended up the finger into the rest of his hand. Both of these children were referred for immediate and more advanced care. I wonder how long their parents would have waited if we had not been there. There was the 40 year old man carried in by his father and a friend. The son had a stroke about two weeks prior and was paralyzed on his right side and unable to speak. And if that isn't bad enough, the person who took him to the clinic when it first happened, didn't realize his right foot and ankle were resting on the motorcycle exhaust pipe. So he had a terrible burn as well. There are so many others.

At the mission in Bowe, we were more in touch with the joyous nature of these poor people as we heard them sing, laugh, cheer futbol games, and watched them play and dance. In Kasese, we are more isolated from the community and so more time spent seeing the suffering as compared to the living. I have tried to embrace the reality that each one of us has the fortitude to navigate what is our life, regardless of how short or painful.

Easy for me to say. But comprehend?