In case you hadn't already heard, we made it home on schedule around 5 PM tonight.  I wish I could say I was surprised to find Omaha almost as hot and humid as the New Orleans we'd left behind ...

I think it's safe to say we were all very happy to get off the vus.  It's a great ride and beats any 15-passenger van out there, but after 18 hours you'd kill for any other car in the world.  Of course, we started leaking brake fluid this morning.  Let me just remind you ... we're all home safe and sound! ;)

I think each of us found something personal on this mission trip, and I won't speak for the others as to what that may be.  For me, it was a sad revelation of all the mistakes and human failures that came before, during and after Katrina.  We failed as engineers, politicans, humanitarians, Christians, citizens ... so many things that we did wrong it's almost impossible to figure out where to begin to fix things.  My mind floats effortlessly to two thoughts ... is it really all worth it when we can be so cruel to each other? and what can we do to make up for those mistakes?

Is it worth it?  The optimist and Christian in me says YES, of course it is.  I just had to look down the rows on the vus of my fellow mission trip members to see some of the best people on the planet, where their intentions were, and remember that there is plenty of good in the world, despite the people and governments that dominate the media and set all the wrong examples for the world.  We were there only 6 days, but oh the things we did!  Perhaps the little girl that the girls met on Downman Street will remember the beautiful college girls (despite the dirt and paint) and how they helped rebuild the house down the street.  Perhaps the guy I gave $20 to after he was "kicked out of a hotel in Uptown" will reflect on how generous people can be and make an effort to do the same himself.  I'm not a fan of President Bush, Mayor Nagin, Ron Brown or any other person who got media time with Katrina because of the multitudes of mistakes they made.  But I know our homeowner will come home, look at the doors and baseboards and some part of him, whether he realizes it or not, will be thanking Abby for leading and teaching our group to rebuild that small part of his home.

What can we do to make up for the mistakes of all those public figures?  At this point, not much.  What I think we can do is erase the poor memory of those fools and replace it with the responsible and good example that the folks from Nebraska, North Carolina and Wisconsin displayed this past week (and have in previous trips as well): selflessness, compassion, unconditional caring and a belief that the things we do in this life should be good and benefit others even if we never meet them.  It doesn't surprise me to hear that 80% of the homes rebuilt after Katrina were done through the help of volunteer organizations like the PDA.  We may have incompetent leaders, but we still have good people in the world who will stand up and do what needs to be done without the glitter, fanfare or even thank you.

I count myself lucky to have spent the last week with people just like that, and the world will seem a little better for it when I wake up tomorrow morning and each morning after that.

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