Final Reflections
As someone who has worked with children and youth for as
long as I can remember, I have often been told the importance of knowing your
students names. Knowing a person’s name
changes things; they go from being a random stranger to being Susan or Bryan,
or so on. Likewise, there’s something
about being called by your name that makes the world of difference. It brings a sense of comfort, it implies a
relationship, and if we’re honest we all like to be called by our name. The moment we arrived at the airport in Lebanon , Ahk
Fadhy and his son Daniel on separate occasions both saw me, gave me a big hug,
and said, “Hello Josh.” In that moment,
I knew this trip was going to be different from last year. Just as in cheers, I was returning to a place
where everybody knew my name, okay, not everybody, but still.
When we arrived at Dar El Awlad, we were told on several
occasions how thankful the staff was that we had returned this summer. As it turns out, we are the only group who
made the trip this summer and the staff wanted us to know how appreciative they
were for that. They made it known when
we visited the boys in their units. They
made it known as they came out to spend time with us during breaks and before
meal times. They made it known when we
gave out shoes and other gifts to the boys and to them, but more importantly,
they made it known in their love for us.
We weren’t special guests who they treated with great hospitality as in
years passed. We were dear friends; we
were family.
The same thing was true once the boys arrived. There was a rush of excited greetings and introductions
as we met the new boys. Most of the old boys
remembered those of us who had been there previously and we quickly picked up
where we had left off the year before. We
played Risk, basketball, cards, and Jenga.
We talked on the bus and hung out outside. Our conversations were deeper and more
meaningful as our relationship strengthened from last year. By the end of the trip it was difficult to
leave our friends, but we knew that we would see each other again.
Perhaps the greatest difference from this year’s trip and
last years besides the weather is the feeling I had on the trip. Last year, I constantly found myself seeking
an answer to my question if and what type of impact was made by short-term
mission trips. This year, I didn’t even
feel like I was on a short-term mission trip.
I felt as if though we had returned for a reunion and joined in on the
work our friends were doing. I knew
there names, they knew mine, and we had become friends and family to one
another. Perhaps the best way to sum it
up is to share part of the prayer that was prayed over a few of us on our last
night by one of the older boys Tarik.
“Thank you Lord for people from two opposite corners of the world who
can come together and immediately be family to one another.” Thanks be to God indeed.
Josh Caballero
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