Day One - Relationships & Recovery
After our half-hour journey, we stood watching the children
as they pawed through the rubble that was once their village; they were
completely oblivious to our being there, and we were completely enthralled with
their innocence contrasted against the disaster that surrounded them. We had hiked to our destination from the drop
off point, the rest of our group was following behind with our supplies; as we
leaned back against the remains of the bridge that linked this spot to any other
area of civilization, my guide wished he had a first aid kit to patch up his
leg, and I poured a modest amount of water from my canteen over my head to cool
myself from the trek. I smiled as I
reached into my pack and removed the soccer ball, rolling it toward the
children; they glanced up, grinned at each other, then raced toward the ball,
kicking, smiling and laughing, and, upon recognizing the insignia on our shirts
and backpacks, they began jabbering in their native tongue. I unzipped my pack the rest of the way and
pulled out the balloons that we filled using my partners camel pack and shared
with our new friends the absolute joy that a bursting water balloon can bring
to both the thrower and the now-very-wet receiver. Slowly, as we were escorted then welcomed to
their village, the light of our new friends danced around us all driving the
shadows of the tsunami away for that one moment in time.
