Safely Home

All of us are safely home. I think none of us was ready for how strange it would feel to be in familiar surroundings. Our last 2 days were full of goodbyes. Wednesday evening we hosted a braii (BBQ) at the cottage for our new friends - host families and leaders from St. Clare's, Oceanview, and some of our drivers, hosts, and youth leader friends. Everyone had a great time. It was a nice way to say thank you and goodbye to those who had worked so hard to make our Pilgrimage so wonderful. Thursday we went to the Library in Masi for the last time to play games with the schoolchildren. Then we attended worship with the people of St. Matthew's Chapelry in Masi -- almost the entire service was in Xhosa, but friendly people were on hand to help us find our way through the service. Sam preached a great sermon on being present (and gifts!) to one another, and claimed that we came to Holy Ground on our Pilgrimage because the people of Masi make it holy. They treated us to a traditional supper afterwards - samp (smashed corn) and beans, a spice/sweet relish, and sheep's stomach (which Fr. Brian warned us might not be clean enough for our palates!). Singing, dancing, lots of pictures and goodbye hugs filled out the evening.
Friday morning we were up early to pack and clean. We headed for the airport, said some more goodbyes, and went through security. Sam and the 8 teenagers flew South Africa Air through Johannesburg to Dakar and then from DC to Cleveland. Kate and the Nodar's flew Delta from Cape Town through Dakar and New York City to Cleveland. The two planes left separately, but met in Dakar, and ended up in Cleveland within minutes of each other. Family members of the pilgrims and chaperones were at the airport to greet us when we all arrived, tired but happy to be home.
Already, many of the pilgrims have posted pictures on their Facebook pages. Feel free to contact Kate Gillooly at kgillooly@stpauls-church.org or Sam McDonald at SamEpisco@aol.com for more information about the Pilgrimage or our developing partnerships with the people of False Bay, South Africa.