Day 8 - Monday, June 30, 2014

After spending the night in air conditioning, for the first time in over a week, everyone felt refreshed as they gathered in the restaurant for breakfast. We were blessed with a visit by Ellen Snow who was back in the DR working with a medical team that was serving a community living along the river in Santo Domingo. She, like the bishop the night before, could not get enough of the stories we had to share and insisted on seeing pictures; not only pictures of the work we did, but pictures of the latest addition to the Peeler family. While we were driving down to Santo Domingo, Don and Melissa’s daughter had a baby boy. They were so excited and Ellen was too.


Saying farewell to Ellen, we headed back up to our rooms to finish packing and bring our luggage downstairs. The bus arrived on time and we loaded the trailer quickly. Then we climbed aboard and took off for the airport. For a Monday morning, we were fortunate that traffic was not as bad as expected. This meant we arrived a little earlier than originally planned. It all worked out great as we made it through the ticketing agent with no real difficulty (other than one boarding pass misprinted) and through security without a hitch. We arrived at the gate with time to spare. While we sat waiting to board the plane, we noticed a group taking pictures with a gentleman sitting in the waiting area. It turns out it was a man named Tripp from MTV. Once our group found that out, they too needed pictures, which Tripp willingly allowed.


Before we knew it, we were on the plane and we pushed back exactly on time. We were finally on our way home and realizing this, most settled in to watch a movie or take a nap. When we arrived at Atlanta, we had to hold for about 20 minutes due to weather. We had plenty of time between flights so there was no worry. We made it through customs quickly and headed for a restaurant for some lunch. We found a TGI Friday’s and everyone enjoyed some good old fashioned American Food. After a week of Dominican fare, we readily consumed greasy hamburgers and the like.


With time to spare, Lauren engaged our youth in an airport scavenger hunt. Before we boarded the last flight of the trip, many of us stopped at a chocolate store to pick up a quick snack. We boarded and pushed back all on time. We could not believe how fortunate we were with the way our travel was working out. As the lights went down on the airplane, many slept most of the final leg home. When the lights came up after landing, the energy was as high as the day we left. We gathered in the waiting area for a final prayer before heading into the main terminal and meeting with the waiting family members.


Families were lined up as we walked along the bridge, and we were not alone. Another mission team was also on the flight and they too had a crowd waiting to welcome them home. It wasn’t long before we took one final group picture and made our way down to the luggage carrousel. There were a few hugs and farewells as our team split up. But we knew it would not be the end. We have already planned another get together later in July to get our copy of the DVD Steve is putting together for the team and look forward to sharing a meal and a little prayer together one more time.


We give thanks to all who helped make this trip possible. We want to especially thank Don and Melissa Peeler for their leadership; and the Diocese of Nebraska, for offering us the opportunity to make a difference in the world around us that gave each of us a life changing experience.