Homecoming

I'm back!  It feels so good to be back with the kids and my friends here in Port-au-Prince.  Getting off the plane in PAP felt like coming home.  No worries.  No anxieties.  Just a feeling of comfort that I was where I belonged.

We pulled into the gate of the orphanage, the kids saw me, and came running!  The hugs cheered me up so much!

You see, when I left in May, I really didn't say good-bye.  The kids and staff knew I was leaving, but I never said a real good-bye.  I never sat with each of the kids and held them, told them I would miss them, or anything.  I just left that last morning.  I thought it would be easier that way.  I didn't want to say good-bye . . . I thought it would be too hard and I wouldn't have the words to say all that I wanted.  So I just didn't say anything.

Leaving like that didn't make anything easier.  In fact, it made it worse.  It made going back to the States harder.  It made the adjustment to life in the States harder because there was still unfinished business in Hait.  But, God has given me a chance to say good-bye again.  He has given me the chance to come back and tell the kids, staff, and my friends how much I love them and how much I will miss them when I leave. This time, I will say good-bye.