Thirty Six
I took my passport to the post office today to spend quite a bit of money to get my passport renewed. Thirty six. Thirty six stamps representing 36 times I came and went from Haiti over the past 3 years. Thirty six stamps of privilege to be able to have an American passport and travel freely. Thirty six times to navigate the airport and all its chaos and complexity. Thirty six stamps to represent how I now feel, as though I have two homes and I am always missing one no matter where I am. Thirty six stamps of the come-and-go missionary life. The transient life. The life that I laid down in service, pursuit of justice, and absolute love for a new home. Thirty six stamps represent how much my 'developed world' passport including Spain, Italy, France, Great Britain, Monaco, the Netherlands, and Belgium was crashed under the new weight of how the 'rest of the world' lives. Thirty six stamps to witness how well-meaning people from developed