the end has come…

06 Dec 2011 1 Comment

by whitney in Belize

“The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another.”  ~ JM Barrie

As my time in Belize comes to a close, I have been thinking much about how quickly time goes, and how unexpected life is.  I cannot believe that in one week I will be on a plane back to the States.  It has certainly been an incredible trip.  I am not sure what my expectations were coming down here, but I know that this trip has been so vastly different from what I thought it would be…different, but much more life changing!

This past Saturday afternoon, a bunch of people were at the church to practice for the Christmas program.  I’m not involved in any of the dances or skits, so I decided to sit outside of the church to observe and talk with acquaintances who happened by.  It was a hot, sunny, quiet day.  I went searching inside for some sort of sports item to play with, and happening upon an American football (to my utter joy!), I went back outside to play around with it.  A couple of us decided to play catch in the field across the road, and it wasn’t long before the kids in the neighborhood were coming out in droves.  At first we only played ‘catch’ with the football, but soon they were begging to play an actual ‘real’ football game with me.  So, I divided the teams (ranging from 3-12 year olds…and myself), and we began playing a very simplified form of American football…though I believe that the NFL would beg to differ that it could be even called football at all!  We spent a couple of hours running around and throwing the ball to score touchdowns,  simply enjoying the hot afternoon.  For the most part, it went smoothly (though I had to rescue a screaming four year-old from the bottom of a pile of kids, who happened to have been tackled onto a red-ant nest…poor child!  He was scratching his face and legs for hours afterward), and I must say that it was one of the highlights of my time here.

It’s a simple story, but one that isn’t easily repeated.  It’s hard to completely reenact and relive spontaneous moments.  As we were driving away, with sweat and dirt covering my body, I was so happy…and sad.  I realized how soon I would be leaving, and how dear these little children have become to me.  How excited they were just to throw around a junior sized, very flat American football with me.  And how thrilled I was to do so!  Honestly, I didn’t want to leave, and could’ve played for many more hours.

But as the afternoon sun wore down, so my time hear is waning short as well.  I will miss it very much!  I’ve made such dear friends, and spent some of the hardest months here learning many lovely lessons from the Lord.  But I am so grateful that I have been able to spend a small portion of my life in this small corner of the world, and am thankful for everyone who has been so welcoming to me.

So, in one week I’ll be on my way home!  Pray for a blessed week and safety flying home (and that travel would go very smoothly).  I look forward to seeing you all very soon.