Bringing tears to my eyes...

So the goodbye's have started and it is hard. On Saturday I hung out with the twins, JP and Brandon along with Duy who was also in the teen program. You should have seen the looks on their faces when I arrived ant their house, trying to hide that they were excited to see me to keep up their "tough too cool demeanor." We went out to lunch with their parents and then went bowling. After that we headed to my going away party.

My party was great. So many of my friends showed up, it was such a great time. And the teens were awesome, so well behaved. And so many of my friends hung out with them! The night was great. Later on in the evening my friends shared with me and then prayed for me. That brought tears to my eyes.

If saying goodbye to my friends at my going away party wasn't hard enough, saying goodbye to the teens that I invested my heart in over the past 1.5 years was. They are like little brothers to me. JP repeated to me numerously Saturday that "its your day" and I could do whatever I wanted. Hugging one of them at the end of the night and telling him I loved him like a brother and him whispering back "i love you" was so amazingly sweet. Then him walking away slowly, kicking his feet before he turned around and asked, "when are you coming back" me, 1.5 years until furlough...and him "saying oh, that's a really long time." Heart Wrenching...

I cried the whole way home that night after dropping my teens off at 1am after my going away party. If that wasn't the end of it.... Sunday (was not the day I am saying goodbye to my Burundian family, but a teary-eyed conversation for sure) I hung out with my Burundian family along with the other amazing volunteers who work with them... When I stepped out of the car, a good 50 yards away and up a hill I was spotted and no joke all 6 Burundian kids ran the whole way chanting over and over is wonderful English with kirundi accent 'Jillian here, Jillian here!" until all 6 of them, including the babies had made their way over me and smothered me with their hugs. I nearly died from the shear way they greeted me!

When the other volunteers had left, Guy, my friend who speaks kirundi was talking and translating with Jone since Guy will not be with me the last time I see the family...and the father thanked me and said that they loved me and that they'd miss me and that they wanted me to call back and have a kirundi/english speaker on the phone call so we can communicate and much more...what was said to me by the father on behalf of his family, obviously brought tears to my eyes.

Not to mention when their 7 yr old daughter tugged on my skirt numerous times saying "Jillian go airplane? Ngabire go airplane? No only Jillian go airplane."

Everything and saying goodbye is really overwhelming me, and its really hard to say these goodbyes. Saying goodbye to my teens, my twin little brothers broke my heart, much less one of them saying "I love you too" to me, that was killer.

It hurt so much to give up that relationship which I have worked on, worked HARD on to build a trust with those two boys, they have quite the story... And then my Burundians, its not even the time to say goodbye to them and I am already brought to tears when I think of it. Please pray adamantly for me during the next two weeks up until August 4th.----(I will be saying goodbye to the Burundians of the 3rd...mental notes--lots of tears will be involved). I am in the stage where I have no idea why wanted to move to Africa when I have to give up such God ordained relationships that I have invested my whole heart and poured out all of the love that I have in my teens, and the Burundian family.

I know this is normal...but it is hard to say goodbye, and very hard to say goodbye to where I've invested my heart. Please pray that I would remember that the Lord has called me to Burundi for a specific reason, because I am having a hard time when I have to give up so much and I feel like my heart is going to explode with every last hug... I could really use your prayers and encouragement, seriously, I am having a hard time giving up the people that I love so SO much.
thanks so much for all of your prayers...