I hate saying goodbye. It is definitely the worst part about going anywhere and loving anyone. Today, my goodbyes started. We had our monthly capicitacion (Bible seminar) and I spent the entire morning with my kids. Then in the afternoon we went to barrios 1A and Los Laureles for the Hope 4 Kids Christmas parties. As I realized that today would be the last day I see most of those kids until I visit (which will hopefully be in 2013), I did my best to not cry (they only came to my eyes... none fell) and just give lots of hugs and kisses. Some of my kids got pretty sad when I told them I wouldn't be coming back to visit for awhile and that I am moving back home. It was so hard. More than anything and anyone who touched my life in my 6 months here, the kids are the ones who touched me the deepest, who blessed me the most and who loved me the best. They are the ones who have my heart. They are the ones who brought me joy and peace and comfort in all of the homesickness, frustration with the language and the various hard situations I have found myself facing this year. They are the ones who taught me what it meant to love deeply, no matter what. They are the ones who taught me how to open my heart wider than ever before. They are the ones who showed me how one simple hug, one simple kiss, one simple walk holding hands could make a huge difference in how one views the world. In how one loves the world. I am going to miss my kids more than anything when I head home (which I expected). I may not miss the dirt, the sand, the snot, the taxis, the traffic, the whistling, etc. But I will miss the most wonderful kids in the world. They are forever a part of my life. And I look forward to visiting and seeing how they've grown and changed. Until that day... I will praying for and thinking of them constantly. They are my heart.
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| Nicole, Adiel, Me and Skylar (Barrio El Milagro) |
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| My Bruno (Barrio Absalon Vasquez) |
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| She never told me her name. She was the first little girl I met in Los Laureles on my first day in Peru |
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| Jheremy and Me (barrio El Milagro) |
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| Ana Cecilia and Me (barrio 1A) |
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