Today, as I was sitting and watching the boys have their Geography and Math classes, I decided that I wanted to go ahead and write a letter to all of them to express how much I cared for and would miss them once I leave. With tears streaming down my face and some Adele playing in my headphones (which probably made the crying worse because her songs are just so perfectly emotional), I wrote the following:
I’ve only known you for three weeks, but I’ve already fallen in love with you. Just the thought of leaving you one week from now is making me fall apart. As I sit here and watch each of you working along side of each other, putting all of your efforts into your studies and into your chores here at Beacon of Hope, I am filled with a sense of pride and joy. Each one of you has amazing qualities and talents that the Lord has blessed you with, and I thank you for sharing those with me this month.
I have enjoyed my time with you so very much and you have each taught me more about myself and of my ability to love others the way Jesus loves than you will ever know. For this, I thank you. Thank you for the laughs, for the endless card games, for the songs, for the Portuguese lessons, for paying attention and trying to understand when I struggled to communicate with you, for walking with me around the compound, for hammock swings and chats, for showing me new things like “mafura”, for escorting me to church, for introducing me to your ways of worship, for your prayers, for dancing, for singing, for your jokes, for paying attention in class and giving it your all, for teaching me the way you work, for going behind me and fixing my mistakes when I tried to do work your way, for your smiles, for your drawings, for bearing all of yourself for me to get to know, and thank you for letting me love you.
I am crying as I type this thinking how much I hate that I won’t be able to see you grow up into the men that God has made you each to be. My comfort, however, comes from Him, and the faith that I have that He will lead and guide each of you to be the best that you can be… as long as you follow and have trust in His guidance.
I do hope and pray that our paths will cross again some day, but if they don’t, know that I am praying for you; praying for your successes, for your failures, for the heartaches, for your education, for your future jobs, your future families, but most importantly, for your walk with the Lord. Stay true to Him and you will find that He is so very close to you and will help you through any and everything that you encounter.
So I leave you by saying, I love you so very much, you are each incredibly dear to me and all of you now hold a piece of my heart.
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May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.
May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings.
May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.
Psalm 20
