A Day of Lasts

This was a day of "lasts."We had our last clinic. Sadness! We have all enjoyed clinic immensely and I will definitely be missing it. I have learned so much from each day of seeing patients. From taking hundreds of blood pressures, to learning about meds, to pondering diagnoses, we very rarely had what could truly be called a down moment. I am so grateful for each and every one of these experiences.We also had our last day in the jungle. Bitter-sweet. Honestly, eight days and seven nights of crazy heat, bug bites galore, and only ONE shower is not something that has me bouncing for joy. But I will put up with all of that any day to be able to spend time with the people out there. At the same time, I am saying this from the comfort of a soft bed after taking a hot shower and climbing into clean clothes. But seriously, God gives grace for whatever location to which He might call you.Today was the last day of our team sanity...or wait maybe that was yesterday. Ummmmm. When the team starts saying things like "I have a whoops seat," when they are trying to say that they have leg room, and when my leader hands me a lime and says that it still has plenty of tomato juice in it, that is the time to be slightly concerned. Maybe heading home was a good idea after all.Tonight, as I lament all or our "lasts," I am reminded of all of the "firsts" that we enjoyed on this trip. I need to remember to not be so sad that it is over, but instead be thankful that it ever happened. Awesome moments are now indelibly implanted as amazing memories.Ruth, for the Global Encounters medical team