Despedidas . . . good-byes. Four years, countless rich relationships, many different ways to say goodbye.
Saying goodbye to our favorite places:
Views from the Mombacho volcano, a favorite place for the hiking and beautiful views. We went with the MCC team for the last time in November for our team meeting fun day.
Swimming for the last time in the Laguna de Apoyo (volcanic crater lake).
Saying goodbye to the MCC team:
We have been part of a really great team, including lots of cool new people that we wish we had time to get to know better. Not everyone is in this picture (taken at Alan's 31st birthday celebration)--see the post "visitors" for a picture of the whole team.
A couple of highlights from the last few weeks included the Thanksgiving potluck (above) and an advent service (improvised advent wreath below), both at the MCC office.
Saying goodbye to our church family:
From our culto acción de gracias (a good-bye service).
Simon enjoys this last time with his friends from church.
With our good friend Norma, who has taught us so much about Christian community over the last four years, at her new house.
Saying goodbye to great neighbors:
These have been the hardest goodbyes! We´ve tried to savor all of these last times with the kids and adults on our street.
Our next door neighbors and friends Javier and Reyna (below, with Alan) took us out for an evening out on the town! Their mom, whom Simon calls "Mimi"--grandma, watched all the kids, and we went to see the National Folkloric Dance troupe (above) and then out for typical food.
Don Orlando and Doña Anita (above) in their pulperia, consistently providing good food and conversation to the community. Don Orlando and Alan have also watched many baseball games together over the years.
December was full of special community events. As always, we had the festivities for the Purisima on December 7 (see posts from December 2008 and 2009). For the Dia de Guadalupe (December 12), our neighbors set up tents and tables and provided lunch for around 400 people. As part of the celebration, the kids and parents who have participated in the library had a special farewell tribute and song for us. Later in the day, several neighbors chipped in to buy pizza. We sat around our living room one last time, chatting and sharing memories.
Saying goodbye to colleagues and friends:
We visited Estelí to say good-bye to some good friends--the Castillo family (above) and the Perez family (below Simon exchanges a final fist bump with Maykol).
Issela (on the left) and I worked closely together for two years, and all the family members have become very special to us. They made us our favorite soup (chicken meatball soup) a few days before leaving.
We took a trip out to Boaco in our last week to say goodbye to Marlene (right) and family. We went with Yolanda (center, in the white), long-time MCC worker, good friend, and care-giver for Simon.
We also had a party with the youth group from the Santa Rosa BIC church at Adam and Marisa´s new house. Many of them have participated in exchanges over the years. They are a dynamic, energetic group with a great vision.
We invited numbers of past participants in exchanges from all over Nicaragua to come to MCC to reconnect, share their experiences, and say goodbye. It reminded me of all I have loved about my job--seeing a diverse group of energetic, creative young people learning and serving together.
While we obviously have had many wonderful times at the end, this stands out as a highlight. Alan´s colleagues and students (above) planned an all-day outing to the beautiful Catarina community overlooking a crater lake. They shared songs, Scripture, memories, good food, and tools that they learned from Alan and are now incorporating into their own work.
The last night . . . we enjoyed receiving last visits and calls from our very closest friends. Here Simon enjoys the last time with his "tias"--Issela and Cecibel.
We feel unbelievably blessed for this time!
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