August 12
So it’s our last full day here at the mission. It’s hard to
believe, but I imagine leaving tomorrow will be a bittersweet moment. The day
started with a pleasant surprise. Evelin wanted to make biscuits! So I helped
her with that and we had a very tasty breakfast.
We had our last mentor time with Gracie. Papi has been
joining in too these past few days. It was a very blessed moment as we each
shared what we have learned and will take from this experience. Gracie and Lee
also gave us a lot of encouraging words and told us what they hope this
experience had taught us. Toward the end of our mentor time, Mercedes arrived
and she too had some words of encouragement for us and she prayed over us. We
were very blessed by that. Mercedes is such a wonderful woman with an amazing
heart for the Lord. I’ve been so encouraged and blessed to know her and I will
miss her a lot.
When mentor time was through, the girls went to have Bible
class with Mercedes, Evelin and Miriam went to Talanga to go food shopping, so
Jen and I took care of our own stuff. As soon and Evelin and Miriam got back, I
volunteered to make spaghetti for lunch. It turned out alright considering it
was a “no-meat” sauce.
The girls were busy the rest of the afternoon with preparations
for our despidida. It was all going to be a surprise so we had no idea what to
expect. So while they were busy with that, we took care of watching the babies.
Evelin and I had fun having a little water fight with the boys. Initially, we
were just going to clean them up since they were all covered in spaghetti
sauce, but considering how much these boys love to play in the water, we
couldn’t resist. Throughout the afternoon the interns and I took turns visiting
with Gracie and going over our individual assessments. It’s always interesting
to hear other people’s perspective of your performance. And it’s also really
humbling when they point out the potentials and the strengths that they see in
you. I was very encouraged though by what she had to say and she helped me see
the different areas where I have grown and things that I still need to work on.
Not long after I had my assessment with Gracie, Evelin’s parents arrived; they
were joining us for the despidida and so was Mercedes.
The girls did a very good job with decorating and planning
the whole thing, and Miriam cooked a very tasty meal for us. We had a good time
talking and sharing stories while we ate. Once we had finished eating, Gracie
asked each of the girls including Mercedes and the nannies to tell us what they
were thankful for. Some of the things they said were along the lines of, “thank
you for the things you taught us” and “thank you for your friendship.” Alicia
even acknowledged that she was very disrespectful at times and she apologized.
She did say though that for the times that she did pay attention, she’s
thankful for the things we shared.
Sometimes it’s hard to put feelings into words; other times
there’s too much to say. For the girls, they’re still a bit hesitant when it
comes to expressing themselves in words, all the more in front of other people,
but their actions always speak louder than their words. After they all had
their turn, they had a special gift for each of us. Gracie and Papi also had
something for us along with our certificates. Finally each of the girls took
turns praying over us, which was pretty special. Gracie said that was the first
time they had ever done that. Personally, I was very touched. I may not have
understood most of what they were saying, but something about their willingness
and eagerness even to pray for us one by one was a very meaningful gesture.
We had a good time taking a bunch of pictures after all
that. I had also promised the girls that I would have pictures printed for them
so we spent quite a bit of time going through 2 months worth of pictures. When
all was said and done, it was night night time for everyone else but me. I
still had a bunch of cards to write, and by a bunch I mean like 8, but I usually
like to take my time when it comes to writing people notes. Each of these girls
are special and unique, so I couldn’t simply write the same note for all of
them; also because my relationship with each of them is different as well. Each
note took some thought, reflection, and prayer. Your know how earlier I was
saying that sometimes there’s just too much you want to say but then you can’t
really put them into words? Well, this was one of those times. I ended up
staying awake till about 2 in the morning. It was worth the time though because
I really wanted to encourage the girls with some parting words. Though I did
have to write in English, I’m thankful Gracie can translate it for them. I
wanted them to have something tangible that could remind them of our
friendship, which is also why I got them the bracelets from the valley.
No comments:
Post a Comment