Well, friends, we did return home safely - with brief goodbyes at the airport (hey, we'd just spent a month together!) we went our separate ways for sleep, time with friends and family, and Mexican food. We slowly but surely returned the routines of our lives - all the while knowing that we were somehow forever changed by this incredible experience.

Our first reunion came just about a month after our return, when GSE Chairman Bryon Harrington gave us our GSE pins. This was a moment we'd been waiting for since our training, when we were told we'd need to EARN those pins. We certainly did, and that first reunion brought lots of stories and laughter.


Then, just a few short weeks after that, we headed to our district's conference to present a small slice of our experiences. There was no way we could possibly share our entire story in 20, or 30, minutes, but we gave it our best shot - we're pretty sure our Aussie lifesaver shirts gave us magical words and plenty of self-confidence. (It COULD be the fact that we'd just practiced public speaking for a month straight. Or it could be the shirts. Hard to tell.)


Our host district gave an incredible gift to our team leader Dan - a Paul Harris fellowship. Tears came to our eyes as we watched him receive this well-deserved gift, and a special visit, via video, from Rob and Wendy back in Australia wrapped up a great experience. We are so fortunate to have been a part of this team!


Our time since that district conference has been busy with regular daily lives and not enough visits to each other. But we DID get a special visit from some of our Aussie friends, Des and Bronwyn. They were visiting the Grand Canyon, so Larry, Jennifer and Mariel headed up to visit with them for the day. Kristen wanted desperately to join them, but was starting her new job that very day. So, she sent the group off with her best wishes and made plans to meet the GSE team for dinner that night in Flagstaff. Surprise of surprises - the group brought Des and Bronwyn with them to Flagstaff!! A dinner filled with great Mexican food and good margaritas, and stories and laughter until our tummies hurt, was a perfect reunion.


We miss Australia every day - and our promise to everyone we met, to the beautiful coincidences that brought us together there, is that we continue to live the lessons we learned there. We've said it before and we'll say it again - THANK YOU!