Two girls, giddy with excitement, setting off on a long road trip destined to become even longer…
This was how the vacation started: my good friend Liz Overton invited me to share her vacation and head to the beach at Amelia Island. Liz had not been to the beach in many years nor been on vacation in a while. As for myself, I am always ready to be beach-bound. The timing worked out so that I came back from Chile shortly before taking off again. So we started from my house, almost an hour later than planned, on a unique adventure. Oh the blessing of girl-friends! Though we began the trip using only an atlas, we plugged in the GPS within a couple of hours. Unbeknownst to us, it must have been set on the shortest distance route—which happened to be the longest in time. We didn’t really suspect this until driving away from Savannah and a short sight-seeing peek around the welcome center and historic district (Liz and I are both history lovers).
- A little bit of old-timey southern-ness
- At the diner inside the old train
After escaping a traffic snarl we still travelled another couple hours before taking a misguided and circuitous route to stop by the ocean and stick our feet in the water and then arrive at the (ritzy music) Marriot Hotel in which we were to stay at a discounted rate thanks to Liz’s Uncle. Almost 12 hours from our starting time, we had finally reached our destination. What a road trip!
- Liz at the Whistle Stop Cafe
Forgive the lateness of this last post of my time in Chile. I had hoped to write it before I left- that falling through when I came home. However, I encountered an unexected obstacle to this: no wireless in the home. So now, more than two weeks later, I am wrapping up my last week there.
My last church service was precious. Isa made sure I stayed in the service to enjoy a final message before leaving. One of her sisters called me up to say goodbye. How is it that the moment you stand in front of a crowd, the words you wish to say suddenly fail you and all you can say is, "this time has been such a blessing to me. I am so glad to know you. I don't have words to say all that is in my heart. I love you all and God bless you." I would have spoken of all the times with the youth...the birthday parties, the fun outings, the meetings. I would have mentioned how glad I was to spend time with specific families in the church and how I wished I had been able to meet more of them. I would have said how much the children had blessed me and how challenging, but rewarding it had been to work with them in children's church. Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, I would have emphasized more how grateful I am that the Diaz family took me in as one of their own and how God knit my heart to Chile and its people. Though my farewell was short and simple, I do hope the people from Antiochia gained a sense that I truly enjoyed my time with them and had learned much in my brief stay. Tuesday saw me packing and Wednesday, shopping. Thursday, shopping. A fun, but frustrating time. Isa's mom was, unfortunately sick, and I was sad that the three of us were unable to shop together as planned. Thursday afternoon/evening I shopped with Cony, cousin to one of Isa's nieces, ate once with her family (in which her sister recorded a terribly flustered farewell message to the youth...ACK!) and arrived late to service. It began raining while we shopped so it was quite an adventure dodging puddles and trying to keep ourselves and our purchases dry. Ha! Thankfully we were able to don new clothes at Cony's house. The service was good and a few of the girls made plans to come see me before I left the next day. A last load of laundry hanging to dry, I wrote letters to my family and friends (in Spanish, of course) to thank them for our time together. The end was a little busy as I crammed all sorts of knick-knacks into suitcases and backpacks. True to their word, some of the girls came over to Isa's house and so I saw them right before I left. One sent me off with a letter in which she included some of the slang she had taught me. She even called Isa because she had forgotten to include a parting salutation from Remember the Titans (the song that has the line "na na na nana , na na na nana, hey, hey, hey, goodbye"... which we used to sing together). So thoughtful of her. Another friend had tried to come, but was unable and so called me to let me know she couldn't and to say farewell. What a blessing!
- Sweet friends
Isa's family drove me to the airport shortly thereafter and she accompanied me inside while her father and mother circled outside. The lines were short and in no time at all I was ready to go through security.
- The view en route to the airport
At the airport, I thought I'd break down, but instead it was Isa who was closer to losing it than I was.
Unhappily for me, the flight was delayed for an hour, but at length we lifted off. Nine or so hours later saw me back stateside. We Damron women had a happy reunion and then headed to the hotel my mom and sister spent the night in for breakfast. I was blessed to eat lunch with friends from Lee. How we jabbered on! There was so much to catch up about. Finally, after much anticipation, we arrived home. A new home, down a long, windy, gravel driveway to a house on a hill. To top this off, we caught glimpses of wild turkeys in our own yard that homecoming day. What a God-kissed day! I believe I will return to Chile some day. The Diaz family has invited my family and I to stay with them in their new home in the South. God has put Chile and its people in my heart. Now I am home again and entering into new adventures here.
