As I sit here on the last plane back to St.Paul all I can think about is one challenge, probably the most difficult challenge I was faced while on this trip. On our first day in Deflt as we walked backed from the hospital which was very emotional a man asked me do I have any good news for him. I was stuck. I did not know how to respond. I wanted to say that we had gifts for him and his family, but we didn't. Then I thought about saying that tomorrow would be a better day, but I didn't know that for sure. A person walking with me answered for me and said no. This stuck with me the entire trip and when I reflect on the situation now I had a lot of good things to tell him. I should have said that I am here to learn from you and your community about Ubuntu, forgiveness, and resiliency so that I can take it back to the U. S. so we can try to become a more open and caring society like South Africa. I should have invited the man to walk with me so he could tell me his story, but I can't go back. I have to forgive myself for being so self-centered, learn from the experience, and move on. This is one of the many lessons I learned from the MaT staff. You cannot live in the "what if's". Instead you have to learn from every experience and move on.
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