The Last Leg Home

I sit here in a room in a hotel in Guatemala City amazed that I am even here.  Lori and I were humbled by the request that we be in the group that is honored enough to pick up Fr. Greg tomorrow morning and escort him home.  It is hard to describe the feelings that fill our hearts.  It is a very special thing to be able to serve him in this special way after all of the service he gave to us all.  The group of five that has stayed behind to escort Fr. Greg on his final leg of the trip consists of myself, Lori, Fr. Tony from St. John Neuman, Fr Greg's sister Ann, and Fr. Greg's nephew Fr. Greg, who coincidentally has an amazingly similar voice and speech pattern to Fr. Greg.   Anyone lost yet?  :-)  For ease of identification I will use Jr. and Sr. even though they are not father/son.  It has been great sharing stories of our lives with each other, and one stuck out to me.  Fr. Tony was talking about how meeting both Fr. Greg Sr. and Fr. Greg Jr. has been one of those "beautiful surprises in life."  It really struck me because it so perfectly fits the situation.  Not one person on earth could just expect a person like Fr. Greg Sr. to be a part of their life.

As the prior week flew by, I had been so focused on making sure that I would be able to make this journey, that I was not able to process the loss of Fr Greg, who has had such a great impact in my life.  It finally caught up with me once we got to the hotel and retired for some rest this afternoon.  I have, and will always hold him in the highest regard.  He had the ability to warm a person's heart with a smile or a "hey guy/gal".  He truly was an image of Christ's love to all of us, and I am so honored and humbled to have the opportunity to serve him in this special way assisting his journey home.  This will be a lifetime memory that I will hold in my heart forever, as painful as it can be at times, all of this is in love.  In love we are all brought together, and in love we care for and look after each other.  So with love on our minds, we go to bed tonight, so that we may be ready to accompany Fr. Greg on his final stretch home, and be a support to all of those that will show their love for him after all of the love he has poured out to us all of these years....

We request that you pray for a quick process in the morning.  There are thousands of anticipated visitors, many of which are already awaiting Fr. Greg's arrival.  So pray that they may act in a prompt manor, and that all arrangements will be executed smoothly and without incident.

Thank you for all of your prayer support, we can definitely feel them at work!