The last
day at the nest, I had mixed feelings, I was ready to take a hot shower, eat
food that I like, sleep in my own bed, and most of all see my boys at home. At
the same time, I did not want to leave these sweet kids, knowing I may never
see them again. I was up to the main house by 7 watching the yougest kids eat
breakfast. We had a morning devotion time, then had breakfast, packed and spent
time with the kids. It went so fast and the bus pulled up at 10. I held kids
and watched as the boys ran around on scooters and the cool runnings cart. When
it was time for the group photo, Omar latched onto me. He took a quick potty
break so I was not worried to hold him. After the picture I held sweet
Aldane.
I did not know quite how to say
goodbye to him. I had only just met him and grew to care a lot for him. His
eyes said it all. I could tell he knew what was happening. He knew he really
liked us and did not want to see us leave. He knew today was leaving day and
that he would most likely never see me again, just like the rest of the teams
that come and go. I could see myself adopting this little boy and bringing him home to
join our family. I had visualized what that would look like while we were here.
If I could have taken him home that very day, I would.
Unfortunately adoption is very complicated and in Jamaica it is even more
complicated. Mark even told me that he would not be opposed to adopting this
little boy. My heart broke. As I stood there for some time, he laid his head on
my shoulder. Jayden and Mark stood by me. Jayden said his little face was very sad as she stood there and I patted his back. I had held him plenty this week, but never had he put his head on my
shoulder. The bus was loaded and most everyone was seated. I had to say
goodbye, but what do you say? I told him I have to go now. He squeezed me and
gave me a real hug, and I squeezed him back, for a long time, before putting
him down. I did not look into his eyes, but walked to the bus. I sat down feeling sad. Everyone was
loaded and the bus pulled away. As we rounded the corner to leave the mountain,
the kids ran down for final goodbye waves. Kids were smiling, yelling, and
waving. I could see my little boy standing, not waving, with that sad
expression, our eyes met. He looked at me until we were out of sight. Even the
photos show his sadness as the others smile and wave. He did not wave. My little boy in the gray striped shirt.
At that moment I wished I could just scoop
him up and take him home. If it was that simple, I would do it. Joshua,
Raymian, and Aldane, I think those three boys would fit nicely into our family.
Those three boys just made my heart melt. As we drove away waving at the
children, the van grew quiet. I could not hold back the tears, nor could anyone
else. It was silent, thoughts ran through our minds as we were leaving children
we would never see again. No doubt, I left a piece of my heart back at that orphanage
in Jamaica The whole week flooded my brain, highlights, struggles, kids. The
kids kept tiptoeing through my mind. I prayed. I am so glad we took this trip, I am so
glad Mark and Jayden could go. I know it will forever change us. God had a plan
and he wanted us there to experience this.
I did not know quite how to say
goodbye to him. I had only just met him and grew to care a lot for him. His
eyes said it all. I could tell he knew what was happening. He knew he really
liked us and did not want to see us leave. He knew today was leaving day and
that he would most likely never see me again, just like the rest of the teams
that come and go. I could see myself adopting this little boy and bringing him home to
join our family. I had visualized what that would look like while we were here.
If I could have taken him home that very day, I would.
Unfortunately adoption is very complicated and in Jamaica it is even more
complicated. Mark even told me that he would not be opposed to adopting this
little boy. My heart broke. As I stood there for some time, he laid his head on
my shoulder. Jayden and Mark stood by me. Jayden said his little face was very sad as she stood there and I patted his back. I had held him plenty this week, but never had he put his head on my
shoulder. The bus was loaded and most everyone was seated. I had to say
goodbye, but what do you say? I told him I have to go now. He squeezed me and
gave me a real hug, and I squeezed him back, for a long time, before putting
him down. I did not look into his eyes, but walked to the bus. I sat down feeling sad. Everyone was
loaded and the bus pulled away. As we rounded the corner to leave the mountain,
the kids ran down for final goodbye waves. Kids were smiling, yelling, and
waving. I could see my little boy standing, not waving, with that sad
expression, our eyes met. He looked at me until we were out of sight. Even the
photos show his sadness as the others smile and wave. He did not wave. My little boy in the gray striped shirt.
At that moment I wished I could just scoop
him up and take him home. If it was that simple, I would do it. Joshua,
Raymian, and Aldane, I think those three boys would fit nicely into our family.
Those three boys just made my heart melt. As we drove away waving at the
children, the van grew quiet. I could not hold back the tears, nor could anyone
else. It was silent, thoughts ran through our minds as we were leaving children
we would never see again. No doubt, I left a piece of my heart back at that orphanage
in Jamaica The whole week flooded my brain, highlights, struggles, kids. The
kids kept tiptoeing through my mind. I prayed. I am so glad we took this trip, I am so
glad Mark and Jayden could go. I know it will forever change us. God had a plan
and he wanted us there to experience this.
The bus took us downtown to our hotel. It was a big
open hotel with courtyards. It looked as though it was very nice in its day. Now it looked as though it was struggling to stay open. We all headed for the beach to take in some awesome sunshine,
an amazing view with turquoise sand, no waves, and a white sandy beach. I swam
for awhile before laying in the sun on my towel. Some of our team got lawn
chairs and others rented snorkel gear. It was amazing feeling the sunshine and the sand between my toes. I could have stayed there until dark. Our time at the beach went way too fast!
We were looking forward to a long hot shower. That never happened with the single stream of water fluctuating from hot, warm and cold, mostly cold. Hey, it was a shower.The whole team met and went out for dinner together then closed with prayer and
each person talking about who they bonded with, their highlight, and their
struggle of the week. After that it was 11:00 and we were beyond tired.
We were looking forward to a long hot shower. That never happened with the single stream of water fluctuating from hot, warm and cold, mostly cold. Hey, it was a shower.The whole team met and went out for dinner together then closed with prayer and
each person talking about who they bonded with, their highlight, and their
struggle of the week. After that it was 11:00 and we were beyond tired.
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