We are home........Finally!!

We are home!  Safe and sound.   But, we did have some adventures along the way....

On Tuesday morning we packed up our things and headed out from the Ministry Center for the airport.
Since we had a little time before our 1:30 PM flight, we stopped by a national park that has 3 sinkholes.  It is beautiful clear water and very unique rock formations.

We then continued on to the airport, had a little lunch and said goodbye to Duane and Shelly.  They were off to do some preparations for one of the upcoming teams.  Our flight from Santo Domingo was on time and went very smooth.

 Unfortunately, the same was not true for Atlanta.  We were met with departure boards that were filled with the dreaded CANCELLED due to a "snowstorm" of 1-3 inches of snow.
After a few flight and gate changes, multiple delays, 2-1/2 hours on the taxi way waiting to be de-iced, we were finally in the air and made it to Minneapolis by around 2 AM.  By then, all flights into Sioux Falls had departed and we were left with "camping" out in the terminal until Wed morning.

 It wasn't the Tuesday evening of being home and seeing our loved ones that we had expected or looked forward to, but we made the most of it.  We tried to get a little sleep on the mats that were provided, but most of us agreed that we didn't sleep much.

 There was one person that ended up sleeping inside a "gated" community that night.  You will have to ask Melissa how it slept :-)

We were able to get on the first flight to Sioux Falls and arrived back in Sioux Center around noon on Wednesday.  It was a little later than originally planned (and our luggage still isn't here as of Wednesday evening), but we were safe, we were home.

As our time away has come to an end, we see so many things continuing forward.  The building that was built is just a start to a growing church, the relationships that were built will continue to be strengthened.  The experiences on both sides will change how we view the world moving forward.  The memories will bring smiles and tears in the time ahead.

Each of us on the team feels like they have gained more than we have given from this experience.  We hope to share these with you in future posts.  So just because we are back, this isn't the end.  Stay tuned for a few more posts. :-)