Traveling Kawajas: Coming Home Party

The Sunday before I left to fly back to Botswana, my family threw me a ?Welcome Home? party so that I could see everyone I love in one place at one time. I couldn?t have planned a more beautiful party; the weather was warm and breezy, the volleyball net was busy all afternoon, endless amounts of food was eaten and/or sent home with guests in mass amounts, and the last to leave departed around midnight. All in all, a perfect day!

Momma Murph, the hostess with the mostest!

Two generations of sisters

Laura lovingly put Avery in a shirt that said "my auntie is the best". True, I'd say :)

Elyse, my best (and greatest) friend

Aside from catching up with friends I haven?t seen in 10 months, it was heartwarming to see people show up who I haven?t seen in years. I was touched that so many people took time out of their lives to spend the day with us. It was an exhausting day of trying to paint the most accurate picture of my life and work in Botswana with just a few sentences; it?s hard to explain exactly how the pros and cons balance themselves out.

With the May family, who I've been working for/growing up with for 10 years now

My dad's side of the family; so thankful (and proud) that my cousin Sean could take time out of his busy schedule working for the Obama administration to spend the afternoon with me!

I hope that, despite the challenges all of us here face, it doesn?t come across as though I?m down more times than up. In all reality, as clich? as it may sound, your service is exactly what you make of it. I strive every day to see the world in a positive light, and although I can easily get caught up in the frustration of living as a white woman in the culture of Botswana, I really am glad I made this commitment and I will see it through to fruition. It?s not at all what I expected when I signed up for the Peace Corps, but living here has taught me more about myself than I ever could have learned at home.

I?d also like to take a moment to recognize my church family at GreenTreeChurch of the Brethren, all of whom I got to visit on Sunday morning before my party. I?ve said many times before that for me, church is about community? but Green Tree is much, much more than simply a community. They have become my family, and not a week has gone by since I?ve been here that I haven?t received a letter, package, email or prayer by someone there. I could sense the encouragement as soon as I walked in the door, and by the time I had to duck out early to prepare for my party, I was overwhelmed with emotions. I won?t go into my beliefs on religion on this blog, because I don?t think this is the proper avenue for it, but I will say that my thoughts about faith, just like my thoughts on what I want to do when I finish the Peace Corps, change nearly every day. I?ve wavered from one extreme to the other in my short life, and I know that I will continue to do so as I grow. What?s most beautiful to me about Green Tree is the tenderness with which they approach my fickle mind; they don?t evangelize or worry about the details of what I believe, they simply let me be in my wonder and questions, and provide guidance only when asked for it. Environments like that are hard to come by in this day and age, and I don?t take it for granted. My experience getting back to Botswana was a rocky one to say the least. My original flight was with United Airways from Philadelphia to DC, then a connecting flight from DC straight to Johannesburg, South Africa. Unfortunately the day I was supposed to fly out was riddled with thunder & lightening storms, and after being delayed 4 hours my flight to DC was eventually cancelled altogether. I patiently waited in line to re-book an entirely new flight, which ended up being with US Airways and containing a 12-hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany (which I excitedly took advantage of and spent the day touring). I?ll spare you the gritty details, but the (very nice) agents informed me that US Airways in fact only covers one checked bag, not two like United, and I would have to pay an additional $100 to check the second. I did some running back and forth between the carriers, dealing with the most polite agents who I honestly believed wanted to help, but it was out of their control. Finally, feeling beaten down and defeated, I stepped away as the flood of emotions that had been building up after having to say goodbye to my family for the second time in a year came exploding out of me in a steady stream of tears. I just couldn?t get myself together, and as I was hyperventilating a very sweet woman approached me hesitantly, asking if there was anything she could do to help. I said no, thank you, but I could handle it once I calmed myself down. She mentioned that she had overheard my phone conversations with my mom, as well as watching me fight with the US Airways agents, and she insisted that I allow her to pay the $100 fee for my second bag. Going on to explain that she had friends who were former Peace Corps Volunteers, and she knows what life is like for us, she was adamant that I let her do it. At this, my eyes welled up again and my tears sparked a few from her, which we both laughed about as we walked over to the counter.

I only write about this interaction because it came at a time where I was very unsure of returning to Botswana; I?d had such a great experience being surrounded by family and friends again, and I felt like sign after sign kept directing me to stay in America on Tuesday. I was doubting myself and whether or not I had another year of this in me, whether or not it would break me. Meeting this woman was, at least in my opinion, the ultimate sign. She represents the altruism and genuine humanity that still exists among us; qualities that I had let become overshadowed by greed and convenience. She brought me back to why I signed up for the Peace Corps to begin with. Her only request, when I asked for her address to send a thank-you card, was that I pay it forward.

Source: http://alexandriamurphy.blogspot.com/2012/08/coming-home-party.html

dalai lama tamera mowry slow jam the news madden cover obama slow jams the news metta world peace ron artest