Thursday, August 28, 2014

The Day of Friendship

Before I get to the bulk of the post, I would like to say sorry it has taken so long to write, but it has been crazy here the last few weeks! I'll make up for it in the next 2 weeks I promise!

     In July, by the grace of God, I was able to go home for my nephew/godchild's baptism.  This meant the world to me since I missed the baby shower, birth, and the first 3 months of his life.  It was an incredible time to be home with family and to start to make memories with my nephew.
     After my 2 weeks at home it was time to begin the long flight back to Bolivia.  As my site partners and I were headed back from the airport to Okinawa, my heart was excited to be heading back.  I couldn't wait to get back to my beloved Okinawa!  Unfortunately, we arrived at about midnight, so I wasn't able to see any of the friends or family I have here.
     The next day was a school day, and conveniently, they were celebrating the Day of Friendship.  Much like in the USA for Valentines Day, the kids here give out friendship cards on this day.  I ended up helping one of my 4th graders carry their snack back to the classroom before recess.  I arrived at the door and a few of my students saw me and shouted "Teacher Julia!" and came running to give me a hug.  I soon was ambushed by 30 4th graders all wanting to give me a hug and share their friendship day cards.  They told me things like "How could you leave us for 2 whole weeks?!",  "I missed you so much!" and "When will we have English with you?".  This last one I find funny, because whereas these kids like me coming to their class, they rarely want to actually LEARN what I want to teach them, haha.
     After school, we had our usual catechist meeting for First Communion and Confirmation.  We decided that each person would buy one gift for someone else to celebrate, and everyone brought a snack to share.  Upon walking into the meeting, I was applauded, told how much I was missed, and received many welcome-back hugs.
     So why am I sharing all of this?  Well, sometimes as a missioner, especially as one of presence, it is easy to get burned out.  Sometimes you wonder if you are being an effective missioner.  This experience of coming back after being home showed me that I am being effective.  I am being a presence in the community.  I have given so much of my love to the community of Okinawa, and I know that it is returned.  It gave me more energy to keep pushing through, to keep loving, and to keep being a presence.  Sometimes the best witness to faith is not with words (though I do teach a fair amount of catechism), but is by merely presence.

2 comments:

  1. I'm glad you got to go home for a short while, esp. for such an important occasion--and glad that you got such a warm welcome back to your other home. God bless you and your kids!

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  2. Great reflection, Julie! Thank you!

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