One of the challenges of returning to the US for a one year home assignment is the difficult goodbyes before leaving. On July14th, we held our final Weekly Kids’ Bible Club. I had been looking forward to one last time with the precious kids in our neighborhood, but was also feeling sad about saying goodbye to each of these sweet kids we had been seeing each Friday for almost 2 years!
It turns out that despite the sadness of the goodbyes, it was a wonderful last day with them.
We held Bible Club as normal, starting with games, then singing a few songs, teaching the Bible lesson, and ending with a snack…this time a special snack – homemade chocolate chip cookies that I had made that morning.
I gave each of them a letter I had written encouraging them to continue seeking Christ and trusting Him as their savior. As we were about to wrap up our final afternoon together, a few of the kids turned me around and told me not to look toward the street. A few moments later, Michelle and Wanjau, brother and sister, walked up with their mom carrying a gift for me. Their sweet card and gift of some Kenyan blankets made me cry. Saying goodbye to these precious kids was definitely one of the hardest parts of moving out of our neighborhood and leaving Kenya for a year!
~Lesli
The Halvorson Family in Africa 