I know y'all have been waiting with bated breath to find out, but no, we did not do the chicken dance in the airport, nor on the plane. Oh, wait. Jon and I did some modified version on the plane for our own amusement. We were very very tired.
Our exit from Moldova was less than smooth. The Moldovans decided to play hardball and we ended up paying for a few more checked bags than was really necessary since they told us we were limited to only one carryon. We suspect they just wanted to get as much money out of us as they could, since it was only 2 out of the 4 check-in ladies being so persnickity with the carry-ons, and so inconsistent.
After being frisked at the Moldovan airport, frequently questioned as to why I was flying into Buffalo when I was Canadian and having my bags searched at the gate in Frankfurt, I was happy and quite surprised to breeze through all the American customs. Especially to be told, "have a good trip back to Canada, eh?" by the American customs officer!
You'd think, after 24+ hours of travel, it would be easy to believe that I'm home again. It's not. Especially when I'm awake and up at 6am voluntarily. I find myself wondering how the weather is in Moldova today. What the kids are up to. How did their exams go? What are Marine, George, Duana, Valentina, Tatiana, John, and many others going to do at the end of this week when they graduate? What's Valentina making for dinner tonight? What are those dogs across the street going to do without Mike to wake them up as we drive by? Who is Big Serdg going to drive today? Did the kids finish their photo frames? Who's going to do the chicken dance with them now? And, how in the world do I decide which pictures to develop?
God has done great things in Moldova this week, and none of us will ever be the same. God has blessed us and challenged us - Canadian, American, Moldovan translators, kids, and all the people who worked to make this week what it was: Victor and Valentina opening up their home and cooking for us, Big Serdg, CJ, and Octavian driving for us, Lucia organizing,and many many of you who prayed for us, read the blog, and who we now get to see in person on this side of the world sharing our stories and pictures. The temptation is to think that it's over - way too many goodbyes have been said in the last few days. Tears are still flowing. Please continue to pray for us as we try to fit back into day to day life, holding onto the memories and the things God has taught us and ways he has worked into our hearts. Please be patient with us as we share the same stories over and over again, show you thousands of pictures, and call out "buna!" (complete with hand gesture - ol) or "laptops!" at random moments. I'm so thankful for technology so we could share our trip on the blog through stories and pictures and videos, and now keep in touch with each other and look through each others' pictures. I honestly had no idea I'd make such good friends in such a short time! Love to all from Canada, eh?
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So glad to hear the report! Thanks for sharing, Carolyn. We were praying for you.
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