Saturday was different from the other days while on this adventure. It was our last opportunity to meet with a few of our new friends, debrief while the trip was still fresh in our minds, clean The Nest, and Pack.
Before we even left for one last visit to Catania, Shane invited us to meet in the front room and share with one another our thoughts about the unique gifts of each person and what they brought to the team this week. It was a touching time as we laughed and cried together, celebrating the goodness of God in each one.
It was a beautiful way to start our Saturday, and it gave us an opportunity to reflect on the activities of the week and how God used each person to bring about an excellent experience.
After we dried our tears, we drove downtown for one last visit. We spread out, some seeking to buy trinkets, and others to keep commitments to meetings with migrants. Personally, it was my first visit to the market, and I was blown away by the sites and sounds.
Returning to The Nest, we started our trip debrief. Over the next two hours, we covered three critical questions:
- What are our thoughts about Palermo? Is this a place that Grace Church can invest people, time, and resources? As a side note, in the short two days, we were on the ground, we encountered men and women from 32 different nations (not including Italy and the United States). Brother Biagio indicated that every country in Africa is present in Palermo.
- What did God do THROUGH you?
- What did God do IN you?
It was a perfect time for reflection and an opportunity to put into words the experiences of the week and prepare for telling our story when we returned home.
And then we cleaned like crazy people with a mission (which, I guess we were). We cleaned bathrooms (Jeff and I are martyrs), kitchen, living areas, and more! And we did it in record time! When done, the nest had the pleasant disinfectant smell that reminded me of a hospital that merged with my mother’s kitchen on a Saturday morning in 1978.
Dinner was with the Hale family at “The Food Trucks,” an amusement park setting near the water’s edge, south of the city. To place your order, you yell out the desired meat, they cook it for you, fill a panini bun and load it with any side you might ever want: Imagine an Italian version of Subway, but much, MUCH better! We then took a spin on the bumper cars and headed home for some final packing.
Sunday morning was the day that would never end. We awoke at 3:00 a.m. (9:00 pm on Saturday for you at home) and buzzed around packing, cleaning, and wiping the sleep from our eyes. Our luggage loaded and our prayers said, we drove to the airport and navigated the hassle of missing team members from our reservations, over-sized luggage and an inefficient airport system that left dozens of passengers waiting in line for over an hour.
Despite all this, once we were through security, we were on our way! We didn’t miss a connection or experience any delays, which was a real gift. We flew from Catania to Rome to Amsterdam to Chicago and on to Indianapolis! We spent 24 hours traveling but made it home safe and sound.
You will undoubtedly hear from your loved ones about the experience of this trip. They aren’t shy; however, I would encourage you to ask about what they saw, why they went, and what it did to their hearts. Push them to share their observations and how it has changed their perspective of the migrant crisis in Europe. You’ll be glad you did.
