Lasts & Goodbyes

Well, the past week was filled with lasts and goodbyes. Our last week in Iquitos. I am at a loss for words to express how thankful we are for these last 5 months in Iquitos. We were welcomed with open arms and the people there shared their lives with us and loved us and taught us much. Here are a few picture a few goodbyes and lasts.

Kai's last day of school with his teacher Miss Ruth.

We have been so grateful for Kai's school and his teachers. He has learned so much Spanish in his time there and he really loves his friends and teachers. He comes home singing songs or talking about shapes and colors. It was so refreshing knowing that he was in good hands and that he was learning a lot in the time we were away from him.

Last Monday Night Dinner

We have loved having Monday night meals at our house. We will have many more meals and even more time with our team now that we will live right below them. This is a tradition that will continue, but for our last Monday night dinner/study in Iquitos we did foot washing, communion and worship. It was a great night and we look forward to beginning the work with our team in Puerto!

Last church service. Pastor Antonio, Jim, Tyson and Kai

It was hard to say goodbye to the families we have become close to. Pastor Antonio, his wife, Melena and son, Jim are a very special family and we will miss them a ton. Tyson and Pastor have a special bond as the dads of two special boys that are great friends. We have so much respect for Pastor and his church is a wonderful example of a church family. Kai would run into their house almost every day to play with Jim and they always welcomed him and loved on him. It was hard to say goodbye. I don't have a picture with the Correas but we are going to miss them so much. Cristobal and Noemi Correa were in charge of the training of the 40/40s. We had many meetings, conversations and prayer with them. These last 5 months would have been so much harder without them. They are an amazing couple and we are thankful for their love, wisdom and patience with our Spanish:) They will be having a baby girl in February and we can't wait to meet her when we see them again next summer!

Kai and Jim riding around the house...

Kai and Jim. This was a hard one for me. Jim and Kai have been amigos since the first day they met. He and Jim ran around the church grounds pulling Tonka trucks on shoe strings and learning from each other. Every single day we would have lunch at the church and Kai would barely want to eat so that he could be done to go play with Jim. When Jim would see me leaving class to go pick up Kai he would run after me "Hermana, hermana donde esta Kai?" And Kai would cry a good portion of the time when playtime was over and it was time to go home. But through his tears he would always shout "Chow, Amigo" and Jim would yell back "Chow, Amigo". It was precious. Jim and his mom came to the airport to say goodbye so that Jim could watch the plane fly away to better understand that Kai was leaving. My heart about broke when I watched them stand face to face, both open their arms up wide and give each other a huge hug. Jim was Kai's first best friend, the first friend he was old enough to decide for himself that he loved and wanted to be with. Their time together was precious for me to watch as a mom and I look forward to some day coming back and letting these two amigos reunite:)

There are many more goodbyes and lasts but these were just a few highlights. We were touched by so many people and I can't name them all but we are thankful for each and every one of them. We thank the Lord for these last 5 months and the people he placed in our lives!