Goodbyes & Good Tears

Goodbyes stink.  There’s just no way around it, they’re the pits.  Saying goodbye to Krista, Jessica and Rachel was no fun.  After two (way too fast!) weeks, the tears came. 

We kidded about the fact that we were going to spend our final day together just sitting and staring at each other so the day would go really slowly.  They had even hatched a plan – they’d jump off the back of the truck and break their legs and that way they could stay longer! 

Of course, the day sped by, and before we knew it, it was time to sweep the floor, wipe off the tables, close the windows, and lock up the Site.  And, no-one jumped, either!  (As a responsible Site leader, I would have stopped them.  Probably.)

It might seem strange that students become so attached to El Callejon, and, that El Callejon, including us, become so attached to them!  But it happens over and over again.  Why?  After all, it’s only two weeks.  Really, just 10 days.  Add in a language barrier for the majority of them, and it’s even more remarkable.

Performing the Spanish drama for
the Young Women's group.

Teaching Finger-weaving to the Thirteen year olds.

Yeah, we have a lot of fun, we do lots of things, like Bible lessons, dramas, crafts, visiting, praying, hanging out, sharing testimonies, playing with kids, eating yummy food and drinking awesome cafecitas, but, how does all of that inspire hugs and tears – and plans for bodily harm?!

The more I’ve thought, the less I’ve settled on any one thing.  Or, really, I’ve settled on just The One.  You see, the students open themselves up to experiencing Jesus in new ways, in sharing Him, in meeting Him in those who look and live and speak nothing like them.  And in that vulnerability and openness, there is a depth, a richness, a connection which drives strong roots down into hearts.

It’s certainly not easy.  Watching Jenifer (age five) lifting up barbed wire for her sister Jalfresi (not yet two) to crawl under, both in ill-fitting clothes and shoes, is heart-breaking.  Meeting girls even younger than their 18 or 19 years, who are already ‘married’, is not easy, either.  Walking into a woman’s small home, hearing her story, praying for her, means giving something of yourself. 

Pre-teens showing off their awesome finger-weaving!

But, through the hard stuff, the ‘gut-punch’ moments, the sacrificing, we truly do see glimpses of Jesus.  In each other’s faces, in the faces of the women, teens, girls, and kids of El Callejon.  And so, our time goes too quickly, and the tentative roots are pulled up.  And that, friends, hurts.    

But, it’s worth it.  It’s worth the hurting that happens when you connect and then have to pull apart.  Relationships that don’t matter don’t hurt when they end.  In fact, it’s not really a relationship in those cases!  And, so, as much as we hate saying goodbye, we rejoice in our tears.  Our tears say we loved and were loved. 

Final walk in El Callejon... for now!
 (with Jenifer in pink dress)

Krista, Jessica and Rachel, it hurt to say goodbye to you.  And that’s a sweet, sweet gift.  Thank you for your tears.  Like the rest of your time with us, in them we see Jesus reflected in you.  Dios les bendiga – and come back soon!!

I have to say a tremendous Thank You to Anna.  She spent most of the week with us, translating, yes, but so much more.  She, too, reflected Jesus as she got to know Jessica, Rachel and Krista better, as she added her own insights into our lessons, and… she gave the world’s fastest summary of the Joshua program – en espanol!  Our week wouldn’t have been nearly as good without her as a part of it!

Oh, and one more thing:  Please continue to keep Daisy in your prayers as she prepares for her surgery.  We sure did miss her – and so does El Callejon!  Everyone who stopped by, everywhere we went, women called out “Y Daisy?”  What a blessing to serve our God together!