Leaving Jamaica - Nov. 12 - 13, 2010

I woke up before my alarm on Friday morning. As much as I was feeling like I was going to miss the home, I really wanted to get back to my own home & family. We had quite a powerful prayer time after breakfast. The group prayed for me - asking for God's guidance & provision in regards to "my little boy." Even thinking about that now causes tears to well up in my eyes. We had the most amazing, compassionate, & thoughtful people on our mission team. I know that there has been a bond created between us for a lifetime.

We loaded up at 9:30 to head back down the mountain. The trip down in the daylight was actually WAY better than the trip up in the dark. I was actually able to hold a conversation rather than just sit on the bus white-knuckled & fear-struck the entire time. We spent the day shopping & touring & eating in Kingston before our flight home. We spent time at Port Royal and the fort there, then went to an indoor flee market for a few souvenirs. I introduced the team to Beef Patties & CoCo Bread (YUM!). Dinner was likened to the Last Supper. With 19 of us sitting around a long oak rectangular table in a small restaurant on a banana plantation. As dinner wound down, the conversation subsided - everyone taking inventory of the past week and reflecting on the time that we had together, knowing that we would soon be back in America, back to our own individual realities.

We boarded Air Jamaica at 8:00 pm for the long journey home. Of course the trip home was filled with a serious of "unfortunate (comedic) events", but we had come to expect the unexpected and had learned to lean on each other through those challenging times. At 1:45 pm the following day I was back in Sacramento, back in the arms of my hubby & on my way to see my girls.

After a LONG, LONG (non-military) and very HOT shower, I sat down with me family to share stories, pictures and video about the trip. The last picture on my camera included the boy I felt God had spoken to me about adopting. As a family, we just sat looking at that picture talking about the possibility of our home and our hearts expanding to include one more child. While the girls excitedly chatted about all the things they would do with their new brother, Fil and I exchanged looks over the tops of their heads, knowing that we are in for another one of God's awesome journeys.