Saying Good-bye

One of the hardest things about this trip has been saying good-bye. In Battambang, after we played and danced with the kids for about two hours, the night skies quickly covered us and it was time for the kids to go to go to bed. We started hugging the kids one by one or in groups, sometimes hugging the same child and the same group again and again. I lost track of the hugs and "love you's" I gave and received.

After a while I couldn't take it anymore. I went inside the van and wept quietly as the children came upon the window, sobbing, putting the palm of their hands against the glass, trying to smile but unable to because of all the tears flowing down their cheeks. All of our team members eventually came inside the van and off we went to a world of our own away from the emotional touch that gave us a little touch of heaven for a few of days.

Some people climb mountains for the sheer thrill of it; others participate in extreme sports. Some engage in risk behavior to get high; others apply their minds to accomplish nearly impossible tasks. As for me, I will keep coming back to be near these precious children to get my "emotional fix"...

In the picture above you can see two of the three children who are now in the G.R.O.W. home. According to Faa, the two girls who just came on January 15 were so scared and suspicious at first that they didn't let anyone hug them. They followed Faa everywhere, including when she had to go to the bathroom, and kept asking her, "What are you doing? Where are you going?" As you can see from the pictures, they got the hugging thing down now. I wish I could express to you the joy of playing with these children on the floor of the kitchen in their home or just chasing them around the house as they screamed from the top of their lungs. Yes, getting your emotional fix can be hard on the old body too.

Thank you, Wooster Grace, for allowing us to be here. In a little over an hour we will be heading to the airport to start the first leg of our return trip to the U.S. Please continue to pray for us. Jeana is feeling much better, praise the Lord. Everybody is doing well. We have loved it here, but are more than ready to come home (except for the cold weather that awaits us, it was 85 in the share here yesterday!). We can't wait to hug the ones who have truly sacrificed in order for us to be here. Thank you again!

I will be posting more pictures and stories for at least one week after we come home. There is so much to tell and so little time!

Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade

itrindade@woostergrace.org