Less than a week ago my squad said goodbye to India, and leaving was so much harder than I imagined it would be. I didn’t grow super deep attachments to the kids there, but I did connect with several and if any goodbye is hard, it’s one involving a child. The night we had to tell them we were leaving I felt like my heart was being ripped out and had to choke back a waterfall of tears. I simply wasn’t ready to leave them yet…or India in general. I had actually grown to like the country and culture, despite the foul smells and trashy appearance.
I had a lot of time to process things on the 8 hour bus ride back to Hyderabad Sunday night…to come to terms with moving on. In praying and talking to God about everything, He just kept reminding me that I was the one leaving…not Him. He called me there to love on His children, to love His city, and to move on. But His love and presence remains, and He promises to never leave His precious sons and daughters. Even though they were abandoned by their parents, and to their country they are considered worthless and unloved, God has claimed them as His own and they too shall inherit His Kingdom! And that’s all the promise and comfort I need in order to have left with a peace beyond understanding.
{Who better to take care of those little ones than the one who created them?}
Here are just a few of those darling faces I grew to love so much:
