our last day

well we´re in tegus again. it was so hard to leave...last night we packed and gave away most of our clothes and other things to the older girls. alba julia and belki kept us company in our room and we had a good last night--cockroach free! we had a ¨ceremony¨after dinner to give certificates of achievement and small gifts to each of the kids (and adults hehe), for the sign class we´ve been doing. we danced to miskito music one last time. :-)

this morning we had to be at the airport at 7 am. a few of the kids were still asleep, and it was so hard for me not to say goodbye to them. we said goodbye to the kids who were up (yes, we cried), and went just with ricardo since it was raining (usually all the kids go to say goodbye at the airport). but once we were at the airport it just felt like we hadn´t said goodbye properly, and we missed the kids already, so since it stopped raining we sent a truck back for them. tio leo cancelled morning classes so they could wait with us (our plane was late).

since the plane was about 4 hours late, we went back to the house of hope for lunch. we were so happy to be able to see all of the kids and babies too, but it was hard to say goodbye again.

it feels so strange not to be there in puerto lempira, not to have the kids with us. i miss all of them, but saying goodbye to some was especially hard. soraya (little maria, mi hija; her mom came back and we found out she had a name), who i hope so much will have a good future and wish so much i could see her grow up; gleicy, who asked me over and over if i would remember her (of course!!); 2 year old batna, who wouldn´t let go of my hand; little 9 year old akim, who is so sweet and who taught me the most miskito; nimruth, my ¨mango cabesa¨who calls me ¨vinagre cabesa¨(the fascinating mind of a 4 year old); 9 year old selvin, my little monkey; 18 year old alba julia, who is just the sweetest girl and who i wish i could get to know better; little brian, who is so shy and always studies and does his homework when everyone else is acting up; josé, the reason why we came here in the first place and who always makes us laugh with his strange ideas....on second thought, i could give reason after reason why it was incredibly difficult to say goodbye to each and every child. we have come to know each one by name, to know their story and their personality.

i hope more than anything that we will be able to come back here and continue to be a part of these children´s lives. we have come to feel at home in puerto lempira...and who knows what God has in store? he knows the desires of our hearts, and this place will always be in our hearts and prayers.

so we will be flying back tomorrow (i´ll be home by sunday). please pray for a safe trip, and i will see most of you very soon. God bless!