Au Revoir

We began one year ago with a Bonjour and today is our last day on Congo (for now).  This is going to be quick because, believe it or not, there’s a lot to do when you move from one country to another!  Ha!

Sunday was an amazing day.  At church, the congregation presented us with gifts.  This was the first time I cried about leaving.  This church is in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Kinshasa, with a nearly 90% unemployment rate.  And those that are employed probably make an average of less than $200 month.  The average offering each week is about $10.  So, you can imagine my tears when they presented us with Congolese fabric, after seeing our love for it (we wear it most weeks in some form or another).  The men bought one for Matthew and the women brought one for me.  It was probably the sweetest gesture I’ve seen here yet.  The people also pass along their greetings and love to their fellow brothers and sister in Christ in America!

That afternoon we left Amelia napping at Nick and Jocelyn’s while we took Levi to his first live musical production.  The American school, with one of the MAF wives as the musical teacher, put on Seussical the Musical and it was really fantastic.  Levi was a bit apprehensive at first, but a few songs in and he was loving it.

That evening, after the kids were in bed, we had dinner with the Program Manager and his wife to say goodbye, though we’ll be seeing them again this fall stateside.

We closed out the day at ten pm by going back to our old house and pulling sleeping guinea fowl from their nest, tying their legs together, and bringing them to their new home at Nick and Jocelyn’s.

Yesterday was also a full, but fun day.  Lots of last minute packing, chores, and saying more goodbyes.  For our final dinner, a fantastic lamb cooked by Jocelyn, we hosted a founder/owner of an adoption agency, since our schedules only overlapped by one night.  It was great to meet her, since I have taken a lot of families who use her agency out and she’s heard quite a bit about me.  I love learning more about what goes on behind the scenes in adoption and where the needs lie.  If any of you ever need a job, move to Kinshasa and open an orphanage or transition home run with something akin to American standards.  You’d be serving a HUGE need and it would actually be quite the business.

Anyway, it was fun to meet the ladies and chat for a bit.  A few people stopped by to say goodbye – always hard, and we sat around chatting and holding baby bunnies.  The bunnies were separated and moved to their various new homes, but several came here to live and grow…

Today we will soon take our bags downtown to be checked, say goodbye to the MAF office staff and have one last shawarma.

Our plane is for late tonight – lasts all night – and we arrive in Brussels early in the morning.  Pray for us, ya’ll!