Leaving Haiti

I've been meaning to write a bit about my last week in Haiti ... and apparently it has taken me 2 weeks to do it! So sorry. Wow, is it really 2 weeks already? How can time fly so fast???

My last week in Haiti was absolutely crazy! I had to quickly finish sending out updates, and had A LOT of emails to answer (of which many were in response to the update that the parents just received). I had to take a couple children to apply for their Dutch visas. As well, one child's parents were at GLA to pick up their child, so I had to get their finishing paperwork all together too. And, I also had nanny gifts to hand out (I had bought each staff member a small gift so that they could remember me). I had passports to apply for, dossiers to get ready for IBESR, and the list goes on and on. I had really hoped for a relaxing last week; however, my last week was anything but relaxing. Nothing like finishing strong! :o) However, it was still a very good week. I spent one morning hanging out at the toddler house so that I could say my "good-byes" there. And, I also tried to spend some time in the nursery as well. I was busy taking last pictures too - pictures that I knew I wanted to have.

It definitely helped to leave knowing that Léa was going to be back in 3 weeks to continue my job. The two weeks I spent training her were two great weeks! I felt we got a lot accomplished during those two weeks. There is a lot to learn; however most of it is hands-on training, so thankfully, we got a variety of paperwork to work on while she was there. I am very confident she will do a great job!

The hardest part about leaving was saying good-bye to my little girl. Okay, so I'm sounding kinda possessive of her; but she did feel like my girl. We both got quite attached to each other, and so leaving was very hard. I think it really hit the most on the Tuesday before I left. For the past few days, I had her spending the day at the Toddler House, so that she could familiarize herself there, as she was going to be moving there after I left. At suppertime, Molly and Joyce would always bring her back to the Main House, and I would feed her supper there. Well, Tuesday, we were all just getting ready to line up for supper, when in they walked. Nathalie ran up to me, with her arms reached up to be picked up. She had the biggest smile on her face ... and I absolutely lost it (as I'm doing again as I type this). I had to quickly excuse myself, and headed to my room for some serious tear time. How was I going to leave her the next day? (The plan was to bring her to the toddler house in the morning, and then leave her there for good.) And, of course when you're in that state of mind, you question absolutely everything! What was I doing leaving? What would I ever do at home that would bring me even half the satisfaction? And on and on. I cried out to the Lord asking for peace about my decision. Of course, He answered. Yes, I was still doing the right thing! Then again on Wednesday, as I left the Toddler House after saying my "good-byes" there, and also saying a final "good-bye" to Nathalie, I again asked myself many questions. However, God was, and is, faithful, and His faithfulness was very evident to me. Everything was going to work out exactly according to His plan.

Wednesday night, I was finishing up stuff in the office till about 11:00. Finally, at 11:00, I headed to my room for the daunting task of packing. And, it certainly became quite a daunting task. I had figured I would have no problem getting all my stuff in 2 suitcases as I had already sent home so much stuff with different visitors from home. However, I very quickly learned that I had WAY too much stuff. So, I started sorting - trash, give-away, suitcase. My give-away pile was growing more and more. However, I could still not fit everything! I was feeling very overwhelmed. Laurie had offered me one of their carry-on size suitcases (one someone had left at GLA with donations). So, first thing Thursday morning (I got up around 5 as I was leaving the house at 8), I headed up to the balcony in search of another suitcase. Thankfully, I found it pretty quickly, and had it filled in no time. Okay ... but I still had stuff that wasn't fitting in anywhere! Hmmm ... And, I hadn't weighed my suitcases yet. Yikes! So, as soon as I found someone else awake, I asked them to please come help me weigh my suitcases. Sure enough, both were too heavy! Now what?!?!? Being very over tired, and emotionally a bit of a wreck, I was completely overwhelmed, and just felt completely lost! What was I supposed to do? I might just have to stay because I couldn't take everything home! Thankfully, some other people had their heads working a bit better than mine! There was a team from Edmonton, and they had a couple empty suitcases going home (they had brought a lot of donations with them, so now their suitcases were empty), so they offered that I could fill one of their suitcases, and then they would bus it to me. They figured it would likely only cost about $25 to send it by bus! What a great idea!!! So, I started emptying my suitcases to get them the right weight, and also put in some of the other things that I hadn't found room for yet. So, in the final end, it all worked out! What a relief!

My flight to Ft. Lauderdale was very uneventful ... just the way I like it. In Ft. Lauderdale, I immediately headed to the hotel. I had a very relaxing afternoon and evening there. It felt very good to just do nothing. I had a great nap, and also had time to do lots of reflecting and thinking. The day on Friday was really nice and relaxing too. On Saturday, I left for home. So, it has now been just over 2 weeks that I've "home".

I think about Haiti, GLA, and the children lots! I miss them all so much. I am so happy for all the updates that I am getting from Dixie, Laurie and Molly. It sounds like things are as crazy as ever at GLA with paperwork, etc. My little girl is doing great, although she does still have her occasional sad moments. But, she is really getting used to her new surroundings at the toddler house, and is making some good friends. All around, things seem to be going very well!

Well, now if any of you are actually still reading this ... WOW!!! I'm impressed. I didn't realize this would get so long! Thanks for reading right till the end! You deserve a reward for that! Thank you so much for all of you that have indicated that you were thinking of me, and praying for me during my last little while at GLA. I could definitely feel it! Thank you, thank you, thank you!