27 October 2009
One of the hard things about being a volunteer in Kenya for so long is that most people are not crazy and only volunteer for a couple of weeks or a month or two instead of half a year. This means that the people that you start volunteering with, and become friends with, share stories and struggles and chai at Java House with come and go and you are left alone. Three such volunteers left today and I was very sad. Jenn started with me and has been here with VICDA before (for six months) and so became a friend, but also a valuable source of information. Two of her friends, Tammi and Katie came out later but became just as important in our little volunteer circle. These girls were closer to my age than most of the others and a couple of them shared my faith so we connected on a deeper level than I had connected with any other person I had met thus far. We hung out on weekends and served together and talked about our homes, jobs and families. Now they are off, back to those homes, jobs and families and I'm still here for another four months and wondering what in the world was I thinking to stay for so long. They are the last to leave and in a way, I'm sort of glad because now there is no one else to say good-bye to.
dre, you're doing a wonderful thing and - believe me - the last few months fly by! volunteers leaving is absolutely the hardest part about being there for so long, but know that we are all thinking about you and praying for the rest of your time there.
ReplyDeleteps - totally random, but i will be in southern cali for a wedding at the end of may... maybe we can reconnect???