As I sit here at JFK, just hours away from home in Chapel Hill, I am finding it difficult to craft a "journey-ending post" that will adequately sum up the experience of the last eight days. It may be because it is 1:30 a.m. in Moscow or the pending excitment of sleeping in my own bed. I thought about this a lot on our 10 hour flight today, yet I am no closer to finding the words than I was last night.

But that's probably because this is not the end of the journey at all - but rather the beginning. What transpired this week has planted seeds that need to take root, both with the orphans and with the travelers. There is much work to be done, many prayers to be offered and necessary support to be provided. The words won't come because the work's not done. The team spent time on the flight talking about next steps as we head home: How do we share this with others? What do we need to do for the orphans from here? How do we get the next group of travelers to join us on our next trip (many of the current team will return)? The energy is still palpable as a tired group of disciples head home to loved ones...God is still at work on this Easter Sunday. The end of this story has not been written...

The mystery of Easter revolves around the Resurrection - new life and new hope. Everything changed on that first Easter Sunday. Christ conquered death and in doing so, gave us new life. On some level, our trip to Slobodskoy reminds us of the Easter miracle. We came as broken people, seeking the face of Christ through the love and generosity of the least of these. But we leave with new life and new hope, realizing that through Him comes the promise of the Gospel, in Slobodskoy and Chapel Hill...and everywhere in between. Thanks be to God.

A picture is worth a thousand words...