The Most Amazing Thing Is Happening

CK/ We are returning home. And we are more surprised than anyone. Though words seem inadequate to express the emotions that Kim and I are having right now our obligation to you, our friends and family, is certainly worth a try.

We arrived in Cameroon with the highest expectations and intention that here we would find a venue to share our skills, to contribute to the culture and to become better people through the process. In a matter of mere days, which have been more stressful and depressing than we could have imagined, we've evaluated our feelings about what we could do here, what this experience would mean to us, and the impact that it would have on who we are and on our relationship, and decided to pull the plug. Yeah, wow. You can see how this might be difficult to explain like this so feel free to give us a call after we're back in San Diego, where we will be as of this weekend.

I hesitate to draw any conclusions on our experience as we've decided after a -year- of planning and preparation and making the choice to come that this is not an experience for us at this point in our lives so Kim and I are likely still in a state of shock. But I can catalogue that our experiences here have already been trying on our physical and emotional well being, that we have felt that our relationship and marriage is the highest priority to us, and that we're doing this in our best interest and that this decision is the right one to make and is far better to make early rather than later. Whew.

I can also say that we are feeling exhausted but well, are smiling and feel happy and relieved that we are returning. We are the same people who left and (though the future is quite mysterious at this point) will find yet a new path to walk together.

We'll keep writing once we return.