In the 5 1/2 years that I have lived in Seattle, I’ve made the trip to Omaha, countless of times. On Thursday, I made that same, familiar trip home, only the magnitude of this one far outweighed any of the ones that have gone before.
On Friday, my sister Melia returned home after 420 days in Bolivia, where she had been living and volunteering at a girls’ orphanage. The orphanage was the home to 120 girls, ages 0-18, who had either been abandoned, orphaned, or abused. Her tasks were many…nurse, teacher, playmate, mother, friend, etc. I’ll never be able to fully appreciate everything she lived through during her stay in the Hogar, but I imagine it was both the most difficult and most rewarding experience of her life.
On the same note, I know I’ll never be able to understand how difficult it must have been for her to leave all these children behind. However, I am so happy that she is home. There were so many times over the past 420 days when I have felt the natural impulse to call Melia and tell her about my day. I had to keep reminding myself that wasn’t possible. Having my friend and confidant back, after such a long time, is an indescribable feeling.
And spending the past few days with my family has been incredible. We are always fun…but we finally feel whole again. I love that.
<jenna>
Filed under: family
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[...] October, we excitedly flew to Omaha for the homecoming of my sister, Melia. She had spent the past 14 months volunteering at an orphanage in Bolivia. Our Midwest trip [...]