"The best use of life is to invest it in something which will out last life. ~William James

How do you go about describing a month that was so full of heartbreak and love?  How do you go about reconciling what was seen and what was learned with a way of life that is so unconnected and so unlike what was just reality for a month?  This is my current struggle and my current joy.  

It's been a mere 48 hours since saying goodbye to the friends who have impacted my life each and every moment for the past month.  Without these people (many featured in the photo at the bottom of this page - many more will be featured as I filter through all the pics!), I would have been lost!!!  Truly.

I am so inadequate with words and so I'm going to use the title quote to describe how I feel - at least currently - about the trip.  "The best use of life is to invest it in something which will out last life" ~William James.  He is right.  Completely right.  Spending time investing in others, in serving others, in loving others is the very best thing I've found for my life. 

C.S. Lewis wrote that "To love at all is to be vulnerable.  Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken."  Well, that's definitely true because I am wrung out, worn out and exhausted.  The last week, I felt utterly done, like there was nothing left to give.  Anything done that week was done purely out of the strength of the Lord.  I am currently broken; broken from the dire conditions that people live in everyday, broken from the circumstances that leave people with absolutely nothing, and broken from the incredible joy and hope that springs out from the most horrible places.  Love is worth it.  Every time. Even if it leaves me wrung out and broken, it's worth it! 

Over the next few days, I will be trying to bring to light the events that stand out most in my mind.  Stay tuned and thank you all for your support and prayer while we were gone and as we all try to return to "Normal"