May meant that the World Race was getting closer and that the end of life as we knew it was near. June, however, meant that things had truly ended and it was time to say goodbye. With goodbyes looming, the excitement of leaving and adventure was gone. Instead, I found myself dreading the goodbyes and wondering why I thought it was a good idea to give up a year of comforts to travel the world.
In our final days:
We spent a week in Washington helping my sister and brother-in-law prepare for the coming baby girls. (Now in Bolivia, I wonder each day if they have arrived yet, constantly praying for their growth, health and development! Love you, little nieces!)
A day later, we visited the Clermont side of the family and said our goodbyes to them. What a treat to have such kind and loving in-laws!
We arrived back in St. Louis for our final week before departure. In a week’s time, we had to finish packing up our apartment, finalize what was going with us for the year, wrap up endless loose ends and try to spend quality time with as many friends as possible.
I, for one, was not up for the challenge. Fits of sobbing were dispersed throughout my last two weeks as I mourned the family, community and comforts we were leaving behind.
Chris was incredibly gracious as he allowed me to mourn each goodbye. He pulled much of (okay…most of) the weight as we packed up and prepared for the year ahead. He reminded me how blessed we were to get to travel with each other. What a gift that we get to bring our one favorite person with us around the world! Certainly, being married on the World Race amidst mostly singles will have challenges, but it gave me great respect for the 39 single individuals who we would be traveling with who will not have this luxury.
In our weakness and in usual fashion, our community group and friends surrounded us and blessed us greatly in our last week. They helped us financially, allowed us to store our belongings for a year, prayed for us continually, cleaned our apartment, baked us cookies, ate meals with us and packed boxes for us. It is especially humbling to receive this kind of help when all we had to offer in return was our partial presence and scattered thoughts. With our immediate family so far away, we were overwhelmed by the outpouring of love of our St. Louis family.
On the morning of Sunday, June 29th, we locked up the only apartment we’ve ever known as a married couple for the last time. Several dear friends joined us early in the morning to bid us farewell and cover us in prayer.
Again, the tears came.
What a blessing it is that it hurts this much to say goodbye.
