family reunion

After being awake for 24 hours, I crawled into bed as the sunrise glow began outside. This place, it feels like coming home. A feeling manifested in many places for me. A deep sense of being right in the midst of where I am supposed to be.Can I just say that I love traveling from the Atlanta airport? Sure it can be chaotic and there can be indefinite lines sometimes. But there's nothing like experiencing some southern hospitality when you're facing a wearying day. And even as we ushered our team of over 30 people through the lines and checkpoints and escalators down and up and a tram over...there were kindnesses given often. Two sweet welcoming ladies greeted us at the food court for lunch and asked another of our girl leaders and I what our shirts were for (when you're traveling with 30 plus people, and most of them are under 18, you do everything possible to try to keep track of them!). We were able to share that we were going back to the Dominican Republic and that this is our tenth year going to visit our brothers and sisters in Christ. Ten years! Their response, "Oh, so these are family reunion shirts!" Their conclusion couldn't be more perfect. They got it! They saw the work the Lord has done. And we are family. Together as a group and together with those we come to see here. What a gift!Every moment a celebration of family. Inviting others to join. Living it open. Walking in vulnerability together and loving each other all the more. Seeing familiar faces not just at places we intentionally go to see them, but on the street corners, in the shops, on the beach...it's like we've been here 10 summers in a row. ;) And somehow, the grace of God has given us favor, love, relationships, trust...family. Even as we've wrestled through the hard together. The broken, the loss, the pain, the poverty, the hurt, the sin lingering, the fear crippling...we are family. Family to stand and hold each other's arms up. To say we just need more of Jesus! To praise.The Lord is so lavish.Something small and so extravagant, I got to sit beside the other girl leader staying for both trips, in first class on the way here. We giggled and lounged our way across the ocean. And definitely took way too many selfies. Sipping orange juice, laying back in comfy chairs, warm towels on our faces, enjoying snacks from the snack basket... And I mean, real snacks. Ones I could eat. Which for those of you who know, those aren't always readily available. And all the bottled water I could want. And one of the sweetest parts, our flight attendant was a man who serves doing missions work intermittently and he was so encouraging of the work the Lord is doing.It wasn't necessary, it was just fun. Two girls giggling in first class. Headed to a family reunion.You can keep up with us over here.Pictures by Cameron Coker for Calvary Chapel Chattanooga Youth Group.