December 24, 2012

Convention days came – and went.

The people came – and they have gone.

Those statements are like the dates on the tombstones with only the little dash between two dates to represent a lifetime. In this case, most of what that little dash held was felt, and cannot be “tellt”.

Convention...the big tent open at the sides, green grass under our feet...the quiet before the meeting ...the same familiar “order”. Of course it was “the best!” just like we've said about every convention we've been to through the years.....but this one had an added dimension I've never seen before. The beauty of the people – all “shades” of color and white, young and old, mixed totally, and in perfect harmony. It was, in a way, like a foretaste of heaven – like the gathering of many nations into one.

A convention is made up of people. I wish you could have seen them arrive! Especially, if you could have been here to greet those from Bani! I don't know how many spilled out of the big modern taxi-van, but more than we would have said was “capacity”. One of our friends drives for the taxi company, and can bring everyone from there. All those little girls in their pretty dresses with their hair parted into any number of braids or “twists” ending in colored balls or beads, kept reminding me of chocolate cupcakes with bright colored sprinkles in the frosting. Smile.

Yesterday afternoon it all happened in reverse, except that children were hard to gather, all were slow to finally get settled in their places. There were so many good-byes to say, so many pictures to take - to try as we do in our feeble way to keep hold of each other; so many hugs and parting kisses. But, one by one the vans finally passed through the gate and were waved out of sight down the alley.

Quite a number were still here for supper and the night. After supper, everyone sang hymns again under the dining tent, as the young people had the night before in the meeting tent. I didn't stay, but the sound came in through the open windows and was beautiful.

Breakfast this morning was at 6:15, and at 7:00 two vans rolled out the gate with all those workers and friends going on to the convention in Haiti later this week. They board the bus in Santo Domingo. Those good-bye's were hard...hard to see them go. But, there was the nice thought that somewhere, before they came to us here, others had told them good-bye – and in Haiti they will receive the same glad welcome we gave them here. I missed the picture of some holding up the flag of the Dominican Republic for them to remember as we all waved until they were out of sight.

Clean-up day! A mountain of laundry that keep growing as fast as we tried to shrink it. Thankfully, the sun shone, and the tents could all come down and be stowed away for next year. A few other cars have left during the day....friends from Canada who will spend the remainder of their holiday at one of the resorts, and also Russell and Ronaele and family from California. This afternoon we told Brenda Lang good-bye. She's been with this staff for two years, and now is on her way back to her home country, Guatemala, to join our Darla Fisher.

Tomorrow the remainder of us will “disperse”.....but I'll face tomorrow when it comes.