We Laughed. We Cried. We Loved.

There are a lot of people leaving today. I cannot believe that another group is coming to an end again. I still feel like that they were just arriving from the OECC trucks and unloading their baggage on the first day. Time is flying by so fast, I guess it is a good thing. At the same time, I do feel like that I've been here for all of my life, as well. It is a very weird place to be in. I am just living in the moment, I guess that is the best place to be in. Overwhelmed with emotions, mostly joy, but also huge anticipation of what lies ahead each day. Mostly I just like to hear the rooster crow in the morning and the first light that shines through the tiny cracks above the sink. Ah, it is 5:45am...I know the colors in the sky by heart now.

Today is our first ever mass distribution at the National Football Stadium. The recon yesterday with the Brazilian army went over well, but the plan completely went out the door today. It was so hot today. Oh man. It got to 100 degrees. The past two days have been super hot, super hot. I guess this is what Haiti's weather is suppose to be like, but we were also expecting the rain, as well. I like the sun. Definitely getting an uneven tan here due to the Tzu Chi uniform. It is pretty cool, we'll see how it turns out in about a week or two. We set up all the materials for the distribution on the outside of the stadium and cleaned all the bleacher sections. All the seats lit up a bright yellow and red. The sunlight beaming on everyone's smiling faces. It was quite a sight to behold. The people started to pile in and you can hear the music roaring through the stadium.....on a second listen...the music becomes louder.....not due to the volume, but everyone started to join in song. "We are the world. We are the children...there's a choice we're making. We're saving our own lives..." When the rap part started, everyone got super into it. I was bouncing up and down and everyone was super excited. We all had a great time. The speech riled everyone up, as well. I was really happy that everyone got into it and believed the message I was giving.

Speech:

Hello everyone! We are Tzu Chi Foundation. We started out in Taiwan, 44 years ago. Tzu means compassion and Chi means relief. All our volunteers come from all over the world to spread the seeds of love with all of you. Our founder, Master Cheng Yen, reminds us that we are all the same. There is no difference between religion, race, language, or the color of our skin. We are one family and love is what brings us all together. We all want you to know that Tzu Chi volunteers are all thinking about you and that you are never alone. The Earthquake was a catastrophe, but each one of you are strong. With love and determination, let's rebuild Haiti together.

I kind of felt like I was the president. After every phrase was translated into Creole people clapped and roared. It was pretty amazing. I was speaking directly to 1,600 people and leading them in our ceremony. We performed Love and Care with mandarin sign language, followed by the ceremony of giving.

When we got back, we said goodbye to the last group of volunteers. We shared our laughter and tears. Everyone had an unforgettable experience.

We laughed. We cried. We loved.