Hebrews 13:2

Well...he's gone...probably somewhere over the ocean by now. His flight was leaving from Charlotte at 3:25 this afternoon and I believe it's a 9 hour flight to Munich. It's the first of the two flights that this group will take to get home. He was fully packed with snacks...some of America's favorites...Snickers bars, Cheetos, animal crackers, and some sunflower seeds.

He slept in the living room last night which is right outside of our bedroom door. He kept insisting and saying things like, "Me sleep, me cry" and "No Daddy, me scary." I don't know...he was sad or scared (or just wanted to sleep in the living room) and I figured that on his last night it wouldn't do any harm. He woke me and Sydney up at 6:27 this morning...insisting that we eat together before he left. Sounds formal, but he actually had a bowl of Lucky Charms and Sydney had a bowl of Fruit Loops and I had an Eggo Waffle...but we were together and he seemed pretty content.

The "goodbye" was just as I had envisioned it. Don and Yasmin Teeter who run the Wilmington ABRO program and who I think the world of, said a prayer just before the children loaded the bus. I wanted to open my eyes and look around as everyone was standing in a circle holding onto their own children and their Belarussian child. I gripped Venya's shoulder on one side and Sydney on the other and I know I'm stating the obvious, but the tears just fell. Don prayed for their safety and asked God to continue to do His work in their lives. He thanked Him for giving us the opportunity to serve these precious children. Amen to that.

We hugged Venya as tight as we could possibly hug him before finally letting him load the bus...told him to be careful, told him to be good, told him we loved him and then our time ran out. It was the same scene that I remember from last year...all of the Belarussian children on the bus waving as it pulled out of the parking lot...and all of us host families standing silently watching it turn the corner and eventually roll out of sight. No one said anything for a moment or two. We eventually turned toward each other and said our goodbyes as well, for we have become a pretty close knit group through this experience.

I carried Sydney to the car and although I know she will miss Venya, I also know that there is a little part of her that is glad to have my full attention back and honestly, that's okay. I find no fault in that.

So, God willing, I'll hear in a day or two that Venya made it home safely to Belarus. We typically get an email from the ABRO program director in Mogilev once the children have made it back to their families. We'll miss him greatly and already feel his absence. Thank you God, for our Belarussian Summer and for all the things that You have taught us in the last six weeks about life and love and gratitude. WE are SO blessed. Venya, wherever you are...spa-quenah-noche. Good night.