All good things come to an end

Well, I didn’t think the end would ever come and didn’t want it to come, but it has at last. I have said goodbye to Africa and all the wonderful people I met there. I no longer have to get up at 5:30 every morning to take care of two orphaned babies for 12 hours, which I am going to miss. I miss holding precious, 4-month-old Joshua and making Welcome laugh by doing something so simple as shaking my head. I miss having little kids run to me and jump into my arms.

I miss Africa, yet I’m ready to go home.

I have accepted the fact that this season in my life is coming to an end, and that’s okay. I know that I am not the same. God has taught me a lot over the past 8 months, and I am forever changed. The experiences I have lived through are now only memories that I will always cherish, through reading my journals and looking at photos. I look forward to sharing some of those with people back home, in the hope that some of my stories will inspire you. I have begun processing through everything that’s happened, which is so vital to the re-entry process, but I don’t know how long it’ll take for me to finish grieving the end of this time. Please have patience and grace with me. Since I’m not home yet, I’m unsure how I will handle it, but I can imagine. It’s possible that little things with no moral value will cause me to breakdown. Maybe I’ll just be totally apathetic or sink into depression. Who knows? Just know that I’ll need some time.

I am back in America, but not home quite yet. Today is my last day with all the other Novas participants in Houston before we all separate and fly home to our different states. I’m sure I’ll see some of them again, especially at Garrett and Alison’s wedding, but I don’t know if all of us will ever be together like this again.

I will be home, in Iowa, soon. I have no plans as of now for this summer or for the upcoming year, but I have peace. God will lead me; I simply need to trust Him and wait until He shows me what’s next.

 

Supporters: Thank you so much for all the money and prayers! Because of you, I was able to have this life-changing experience the last 8 months. Thank you and God bless you!