Rex is dog tired

Happily exhausted. I think that might be the best way to describe how I feel now. We’ve done quite a bit of work on our assigned home. We’ve demolished and rebuilt a bathroom while the other team members finished the front living room. Such a great experience this has been. To come so far across this country to meet, not strangers, but friends we hadn’t met yet. Martin and Toza, the couple who own the home we’re working on, joined us for dinner and our gathering after. We shared stories of our lives and histories, we shared music (Martin played guitar with us and sang us a beautiful song in French) and we shared a sense of being a part of this place. To be welcomed as visitors is nice, but to be welcomed as friends and made to feel as though you belong in a place far from home is fantastic. As they were leaving us for the evening, I told Toza if they ever wanted to visit in California they had a place to stay. Instead of the usual “Oh, thank you, that’s nice of you to offer, she grinned at me and said, ”I know”.

That’s just how it is here, it’s like you’re family from the moment you arrive.

I just want to say hello to my son Royce, too. I’ve missed you and your sister so much. But when I get back Monday, I’ll have some terrific stories for you.

Tomorrow is our last work day and I have mixed feelings, to say the least. There is so much to do, a week doesn’t seem like enough. I’ll be glad to be back in California Monday, but I can’t help but think that I’ll be feeling a different kind longing for a place where I have friends I just hadn’t met yet.

Rex,