Love is real

Wednesday, June 12^th

            Today Liz and I woke up and went onto breakfast. Amy and Leigh met us there for our last Annie’s breakfast before school, feels unreal. Dr. Kelly didn’t fail us and had an avocado upon her arrival; you could say we were excited by how fast it disappeared. Driving to school today was a mixture of emotions. I always enjoy the drive to school because the view is just beautiful. It was weird, while looking at the beautiful mountains and people walking around, that it would be my last drive on this road. As we were pulling up to the Government school I felt my stomach tighten into little knots. I looked at Liz and I knew she was feeling the same way. The arrivals to the schools are definitely going to be something I will miss the most. Besides pulling in to see my parents for the first time in a while, I don't ever have a group of the loveliest faces being overly excited for my arrival; I’m going to miss that. We arrived at 9:20am, I remembered looking at my watch. That meant we only had 40 minutes left with what started out as a class full of African children to what became the completion of my heart. I walked in and immediately scanned the first row for Beauty, Kelvin, Teleza, Chisomo, and a few others that I would have been heartbroken if they weren’t there; they all were present. Kelvin looked as cute as I have ever seen him, he has a sweater vest and collared shirt on. I honestly think the kids dressed up for us today because they all were in their best dresses and shirts. It was the last time I would be walking into that room of those precious faces with them smiling and cheering for our existence; I’m going to miss that as well. Liz and I took some pictures, told them how much we loved them, and grabbed a hold of their hugs like it was the last one we would ever receive. Fact: Time flies when you don’t want it to. Those 40 minutes with them felt more like 40 seconds; I was just praying that it would never end. It did end though and I had to say goodbye. I am happy, though. The last memories my heart photographed of them were their smiles, their laughs, their hugs, and their sweet voices saying my name the way I love it most. As much as I wanted to scoop them up and bring them home with me I knew that the time we had together meant something, lives were changed from both sides and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. If I have learned anything from this trip it’s that love at first sight is real; it’s so unbelievably real and it hits hard.

            After our goodbyes we went over to the Standard 1 classrooms for a farewell party the teachers were throwing us. They showered us with kind words, snacks, and they made each one of us dresses! The dresses were so amazing and everyone in the group got the same fabric, we looked adorable and a little Amish. I am going to miss the Government school staff so much; they are such incredible people. After the farewell party we toured the medical clinic close by and had some down time before our dinner party at 5:30pm that evening. The medical clinic was really great; the advancement from the past has said to be such an improvement, according to Dr. Kelly.

            Our dinner party was great! The power did go out in the beginning, so we ate dinner in the dark but as soon as we finished we were graced with the presence of light. Dr. Kelly, Dr. Liz, and Dr. Roberts all had a little speech and then all of the 3 school’s Head teachers said a few words and recognized all of the teachers, it was nice. As a goodbye present to our teachers we prepared three songs to sing them as a group. From their faces it looked as if they truly loved them! After the songs we prepared for departure and said our goodbyes. Ellen and Lana came right up to Liz and I and hugged us about 8 times each. I am going to miss them so much but I know that I will see them both again someday.

            After we got back to Annie’s Liz and I finalized our packing and watched Rio. We are getting up around 5am tomorrow morning to watch the sunrise on our last morning in Zomba. We are heading out at 7am for Lake Malawi, so we should arrive around 10:30am! I heard Lake Malawi is absolutely beautiful and we are staying in a resort, which is such a treat. I cannot wait to share with you all about the last 2 full days of this life-changing trip. Thank you all for following me, I love you all so much!

Until then,

xoxo