I'm leaving on a jet plane

I remember singing this song before I left the states and now I am singing it again. However, in the states it was my mother who was crying and now it is me. Yes I am sitting here in an internet cafe-- in a country where showing emotion is not accepted-- crying, publicly no less.
This day is going to be a tough one for us. We had to say our final good-byes to Aunty Chris from Banta-- our mother, our friend, supporter, encouragement, the list goes on. Sometimes when I sit with Aunty Chris and listen to her I just think, do I really know her? I should be reading about her in a best-selling biography, and yet I am sitting here listening to her, and she considers me one of her dearest friends. I don't know how God has blessed me so, to meet this woman. And this is who I had to say good-bye to today. And next it's the kids.
We will be leaving for our debriefing tonight and from there we will leave to go to the airport. Last night we had our farewell. It was a touching program, and it was a blessing to see the appreciation of the people, to see some of the fruits of our labor.
I wish I had more to say but as soon as I start typing I starting crying again and my thoughts are a bit scattered. I just wanted to write one last blog from Sierra Leone. But I know that this will not be the last time I am here. I read in a book once that Africa has a way of getting under your skin and it gets in your blood, so much that you can never truly leave. I know now that this statement is true. And it's a funny thing, because I can't actually put my finger on it, but there's just something there that won't let me go.

So Africa, my Africa, you will forever be in my heart. As I go, may God watch over you and take care of you, may you look to Jesus for your salvation, may you always find rest and peace in his arms, and may you seek Him and follow Him with your whole heart.

I have loved and been loved

Yesterday we left Banta for the last time. That was probably the hardest things I have ever had to do. It is difficult to say goodbye here because I really don't know if I will ever see these people again. I pray to God that I will, but here, nothing is ever certain. One of the hardest things about leaving is not knowing if they will be okay. When we are here we can keep track of people and make sure they are being taken care of, but when we go we will be relying on other people to be our eyes, ears, and hands. While it was sad and there were many tears that were shed that day, there was a peace in knowing that we truly loved these people, and it hurt because it was good, a good thing happened in that place. We made an impact on these peoples lives as they did on ours. Those people were my mothers, my sisters, my brothers, and my children.
Yesterday was a taste of what is to come, when we finally leave the country I know that my heart will be being pulled and stretched and wrenched in so many directions. I ask that you please pray for both Sarah and I as we leave. Pray that the Lord would give us peace, that He will keep these people that we have loved as our own, He cares about them a million times more that we do. Pray that our family and friends would have patience with us as we make the transition back to our own culture. Pray that we would be able to take everything we've learned here and apply it to our lives in America and that we would allow God to change our lives in the way that He desires.
I don't think this will be that last blog entry, but in case it is I want to thank you all. I have been so humbled by your interest in the lives of the people I have met here, people that you don't even know. I challenge you to continue to pray for these people and COTN-Sierra Leone. It's amazing how God uses us sometimes. Sarah was saying the other day how our being here has effected so many people we don't even know, because our being here is effecting the people in our realm of influence, who then tell there realm of influence and the chain continues. So all this to say, that I appreciate all of you and I know that it is only by your prayers that this year has been so amazing for me.