Saying Goodbye...

It's our last night in Moldova. We did a little sightseeing today, toured a monastery in Curchi and bought a few souvenirs before finishing our last meal here at the Baptist Mission House. All that's left is to pack and say goodbye. Paul and Marti will stay another day in Cisinau to visit with friends before heading on to Moscow. Stuart will stay a few days longer, hoping that AT LAST the beds clear customs and he can attend to some Sweet Sleep work here in Cisinau. Christina, Donnie, Jim, Nolan and I will fly to Frankfurt before we separate onto two different flights back to the U.S. It's hard to believe it's over already. The border crossings, the birthday party for the kids at the orphanage, the work with street kids at Pastor Serghei's church in Dubasari, the strange toilets, the brightly colored money, the amazing food, our new translator friends, the faces of each of the children ... it will all be a memory by tomorrow night. The trip was definitely not what we expected. The beds are still tied up in Transnistrian red tape and it will be up to Pastor Serghei and members of his local congregation to assemble them once the government finally releases them. It's heartbreaking to leave without finishing the work we came here to do, but at the same time we know that God was at work through us this week. Tatiana, the director of the orphanage, was so upset and embarrassed for her country that we weren't able to get the beds done, and while it wasn't her fault and we told her that, I think our good attitudes and genuine concern for the kids helped to soften her heart in a way that wouldn't have happened if the week had gone smoothly. As a result, I think she'll definitely be more open to future teams that come to finish the work. I haven't packed to go home yet, but I'm already thinking about how I can come back to Moldova and to Transnistria. This whole week the lyrics from a Rich Mullins song has been running through my head: "The other side of the world is not so far away as we thought that it was, as we thought that it was so far away...." It's a little corny, but it's become so real to me - and I'm sure to all of us - this week. Here's hoping and praying we don't forget that when we return to the familiarity of our "regular" lives.