Written by Jordan on the bus ride home:

Well everyone is sick.
I'm not sure how you spell it, but I can definitely smell it ... diaherra! I'm not huge into journaling or things like that but I would like to express several thoughts from the trip.

First of all, I'd like to say that the entire trip has been amazing. I never thought I'd be upset leaving a bunch of 5 to 12 year olds. I don't remember the last time I was that sad. Seeing Fernando running down the street yelling "amigo", with his arms wide open and jumping into my arms was an upsetting and great feeling at the same time. This is extremely hard for a man (boy) to admit, but there were definitely tears welling up in my eyes. It was hard to leave behind that trouble maker but I am glad to have a made a friend despite a large language barrier.

I have learnt alot about myself and how humble pie has the most rewarding bitter-sweet taste. I also realized how a little bit of compassion can build friendships; not just between us and the children but between MCC youth and SL youth. Intially there were some hostities between the two church groups, but by simply taking down one's immature and defensive guard, friendships were established between our opposing parties.

Somtimes this compassion was illustrated through acts of grace. Grace is much easier to talk about than act out. Now imagine our miniscule grace multiplied by millions or billions - actually it's impossible to put a price or numbers on God's grace. Without his grace I don't know where I'd be.

All in all this trip has been a huge blessing to me and I'm sure everyone from MCC youth, SL youth, and all the children we came across. Even though the stench of diaherra is strong, it is not strong enough to out muscle the Godly encounters we had on this trip.