Farewell PNG
How does one say goodbye? It has never been easy. Since the day we headed to Sierra Leone, we have dealt with this reality. Saying goodbye to friends and family then meeting a new set of people who become friends and family replacements. Then we repeat the cycle to leave a new home to go home. And so the cycle goes.
To be honest, coming back to the states sometimes feels like moving to a new country. So much has changed in so many areas, even in the family. Life moves on, people grow up and grow older and you were not around to be part of the process. Coming home is more about catching up before leaving again.
But this time it is different. In every other place, we have said goodbye in the knowledge that we would be returning whether it be in a year or 3-4 years. Those goodbyes are not as difficult. But this time we are saying goodbye with the knowledge we, in all likelihood, will never return. And there is very little chance we will ever see them again, except for a few of the missionaries who may happen to be in the states at the same time. Even that is often rare because of the nature of our travels and schedules.
So, there we were, at the Bible school with a larger crowd than we expected, going through the process of saying goodbye to students, coworkers, national leaders, and many others. Bible school children that called us grandpa and grandma.
Heart-wrenching sounds too horrible a phrase to describe the emotions, but its alternative is heartbreaking and it sounds just as bad. Both accurately describe the emotions experienced that day. We felt it as each person gave us a gift, gave us a hug, struggled through the tears to share a thought and a memory. PNG people have no stigma about crying, male or female, and they cried openly and expressively. Our hearts were wrenched and broken over the separation that was about to occur.
We were presented with so many gifts, some really unique, like the choker made of brilliantly colored beetles and an incredible mumu prepared by the students and a farewell cake. The program took at least three hours, as everyone wanted to say something, or try to say something.
Now we are packed and at the airport and they have come one more time to hug and cry and say goodbye. Lord, it is hard to leave such wonderful friends and family. It is hard to understand your plan to send us to the other side of the world. We have no words adequate to express what these people have come to mean to us.
And so into the airport and on to the next journey, the adventure that awaits us. While saying goodbye has been painful, it will give us the strength we need for what lies ahead. Their love and prayers will sustain us as we reconnect with our family and friends in the states and as we prepare for the next phase of the journey, we have been called to travel and we will do it as a family.
Perry J, Nancy, and family
Have you ever had to say goodbye to people knowing you would never see them again? How does one handle the emotions involved? Do you know how to correctly handle their emotions and the gifts they may bring? Is it possible to prepare oneself for such an event?