I once had a friend tell me, “Growing up is learning to leave little pieces of your heart wherever you go.”
As I get ready to head into month three of the Race, I realize how right she was. I also know that I’m going to grow up a lot this year. I’m learning to leave pieces of my heart in the places we have been. While this is sad and very difficult, it is also one the most beautiful treasures I have.
A few weeks ago, I remember walking to town in Changlun for one of the first times. I looked at the team mates who were with me and in all seriousness said I don’t think Malaysia will be that hard for me to leave. Flash forward to the present moment and I realize how wrong I was.
This month we were able to help in a kindergarten. I was in the classroom with the three year olds. Most of my morning was spent singing the same five songs (over and over and over again), reading Peter and Jane, and playing with blocks. It would have been easy to go to ministry in the morning, help out in the classroom, and then go back home and check out for the rest of the time.
But teaching kindergarten wasn’t REALLY what this month was all about. The city of Changlun is full of some of the most beautiful, gracious people you will ever meet. And for a month, I got to build relationships with and love on these people.
Our last days in Changlun were full of painful, but beautiful goodbyes. As we said goodbye to multiple people, I realized what an amazing month I had in Changlun.
The night before we left, we said goodbye to the family that owned our favorite restaurant. We were met with hugs, photos, and gifts: keychains, homemade sweets, and free teas (we became addicted over the past month). That was the beginning of our sad goodbyes.
Throughout our last day, the goodbyes kept coming, each so sweet, and each so hard in their own way. In the morning I went to visit the students I had come to love for the last time. As I walked in the door of the school, one of my favorite students screamed “TEACHER!” and ran into my arms. Then another one of my students grabbed my hand and just held it for a few minutes. Somehow, without telling them I was leaving, they knew. As I hugged the students and teachers goodbye, tears rolled down my cheeks and I realized a huge piece of my heart would be left in Changlun.
Later that night, we had to say goodbye to our contact and his family. Although the word contact doesn’t really seem to fit, family is a more accurate for what they are to us. We ate dinner together, laughed, cried, and talked about our past month. It was such a beautiful end to an incredible month.
Goodbyes are usually the equivalent of a curse word in my mind. I have come to dread them, because they are hard. But as I left Changlun, I realized I’ve started to see the beauty in goodbyes, especially ones that hurt. I am grateful for painful goodbyes because it means I have loved and been loved, and that is a wonderful thing.
Here’s to a year of painfully beautiful goodbyes and learning to leave pieces of my heart in as many places as possible.
My next financial deadline is coming up on December 1st. On that day I need to have $11,000 in my account. As of right now, I have $8,140 in my account. If you would like to be a part of keeping me on the field after December 1st, you can give one of two ways. You can give by clicking the tab that says support me to the left. Or you can send a check made out to Adventures in Missions with WebbJillian in the memo line to:
Adventures in Missions
P.O. Box 534470
Atlanta, GA 30353-4470
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by clicking on the tab on the left. Thanks for following along on my journey and for the prayers and support!
