Day 21 – Travel day

This morning didn’t start like all the other mornings, instead as we were still in our bedrooms we could hear rhythmic clapping and small voices. It wasn’t really loud, but I knew it was deliberate. I finished my reading and came out of my bedroom to find Renee saying they wanted us to go downstairs. Leo came out about the same time and we all came down the circular stairs where there were probably 20, mainly very young faces. Renee and I went to sit on the couch with children all around at our feet and Leo stayed midway down the circular stairs. None of us had our phones along and truthfully I’m glad we simply experienced this tender scene of quiet singing followed by testimonies from mainly the younger children. At first there was leading in prayer of thanksgiving for something. When the younger ones talk in the Liberian dialect of English and colloqua, you have to kind of guess what they say. Some are easier to understand than others. Many simply stood up stating that ‘they are thankful to God for…’ with reference to the ‘team’ or something like that. We were moved by their genuine confession of thankfulness towards us. Some would stand up and simply quote a Bible verse. This was followed by wishes of safe travel and reunion with our families. Emmanuel came out and sat beside Renee and me and he led things through from there. We ended, after many kind words, with a prayer for our travels. We dispersed and headed back upstairs. Renee and I enjoyed an omelette with onions and cut up tomato slices along with our coffee. Leo is still nursing an upset stomach so he skipped the breakfast. Thankfully he’s feeling better now.

As I sit here in the airport with Renee and Leo, we feel a special bond as together we were loved and cared for by people across the ocean, over 5000 miles from our homes. The day would pass too soon and yet take forever. I packed my suitcases to be ready, but I wasn’t going to complete until I had my shower and could finalize my packing. I believe Renee was ready 2 days ago, not because she was anxious to go, but she plans better than I do. Leo lives an easy life and for him to get ready to go took probably 5-10 minutes.

Since Leo wasn’t feeling up to walking today I went for a walk by myself. I came upon a girls kickball game and I watched an inning of them playing. The green team scored many during the inning, while the white team went scoreless in that inning.

As I walked around I heard the occasional, ‘Dr. Robin’ called out to me, letting me know that they recognized me from LCMI church. It was fun to hear this.

When I returned to the yard, I sat outside and visited with many. One past friend stopped by to greet me and headed back out.

I decided to head upstairs where I found Renee sleeping by a fan on the couch. I didn’t disturb her as I headed to my room to shower and finish packing. Leo was downstairs showing pictures to the children.

When I cleaned up and packed, I came out to see Meko talking to Renee, sad that we were soon leaving. This would be hard for all of us. many tears began to flow as the time drew nearer. Before we headed downstairs to pack the car Titus and Mercy stopped by to say goodbye as well. They shared some gifts with us and even brought Renee some fried plantains for a last taste before leaving.

It wasn’t long and we headed downstairs, carrying our 5 bags and 3 backpacks. We left 3 empty suitcases for them to use since we didn’t need any room for our things.

Once downstairs, the car was packed pretty quickly with long faces all around. I took advantage of this to request to sing a song with them. Matthias got out the keyboard and started to play ‘I’ll Fly Away’, a song I was able to teach them 14 years ago. They know mostly the chorus, but it was fun to sing with them.

Such a sweet time.

We will be boarding our plane now so I’ll finish up. So thankful that we’ve been able to travel this road together.