Sunday when we returned to the village we had to say goodbye to Eddie our driver. We had only been with him 3 days, but the group really enjoyed him. Lots of hugs and a group picture had to be taken. Then we were all excited to greet the staff at the village who we had missed so much! Everyone spread out to pack and get showers before our big final evening. Most of us decided to get a little dressed up in order to celebrate our last night together. Some of us put on dresses and some even wore makeup!! The plan was to have dinner and then enjoy some local music. Our good friend Scott Gray was coming with a few members of his band. Scott had lived in the village for a few years, but last year moved about an hour away. It was the first time in a long time that volunteers had not got to be with him everyday in the village. I was excited for all of them to meet him and for our returning volunteer Anna Marie to get to see him again. We had another amazing dinner and all sat under the shelter beside the fire keeping warm. After dinner Scott led our “reflection” where each volunteer is asked to talk about their experience and share any thoughts they might have. It never fails that there are some tears and some laughter as we all share and listen to music together. There was a little dancing and a lot of laughing. We all stayed up later than normal mostly because the volunteers knew tomorrow morning would come quickly.
I love hearing what the volunteers have to share at this final reflection. Greg who was the only man on this trip had a hard time even expressing his emotions. It was clear that the trip had touched him in a very special way. Everyone shared how their love of Malawi was now going to be with them forever. Shannon had some tears and we all praised her bravery for taking the steps to make this trip happen for herself. Anna was sad knowing that another trip in Malawi was ending and talked about knowing she would return again. Elizabeth is a shy one, but she even expressed how much she enjoyed visiting a new part of Africa and promised to make another trip someday. Nicole spoke well about how this experience was different than she had expected and ended up being much more meaningful and life changing than she ever thought it would be. Last nights are always difficult. There is a cloud of sadness, but also gratefulness. Friendships were made and everyone knows that once we are all back to “real life” it will be more hard to stay connected. Many of the volunteers have said they want to return again next year and to me that is the greatest compliment. The experience we provide is one that we always hope touches people in a special way. It is a lot of work planning these trips and then a lot of work making sure everyone is well taken care of and enjoying themselves. In the end though it always comes back to the people of Malawi and that tends to be the reason people want to return. At the end of the night I always give a gift to each volunteer and tell a little story about my first experience in Malawi. When I got up to speak Scott said if I wanted him to give my speech he could do it because he had heard it so many times! 🙂 Traditions are good and I like to keep making them on these trips. I’m sure most of the volunteers didn’t sleep well knowing that the next day would be spent on an airplane and not in the warm heart of Africa.