Better to have loved...

A picture taken at one of the goodbye parties.

This season has been full of too many goodbyes. Unexpected goodbyes that leads the mind to wonder if those who have gone have "gone before their time". Of course, my human mind doesn't see the big picture and does not know what the future holds. I have many emotions from it all and the biggest one is sadness. My daughters often talk about the most difficult part of being a missionary kid is constantly meeting wonderful people who positively influence their lives and, then in the blink of an eye, they leave. There is a famous quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson which says, "Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." My own version would be something like this: "Tis better to have loved someone by allowing them to enter into all areas of our lives and yet feel the heartwrenching pain of letting them go- than to have never met them at all."

As I look back on this year, I reflect on the hardships the interns endured and the good they have brought to this place. Upon arrival, each intern has witnessed the heat which zaps ones energy. They look out and see lots of sand, camels, donkeys, cows, goats, and thorn bushes. I am sure they wonder can any change happen in this place? Then they start introduced themselves around town. Even though women here are covered from head to toe, the interns have been able to look into their beautiful dark brown eyes and begin friendships. Life stories are shared and, in the quiet moments, requests to God are prayed for these friends: "Lord, do not hide your face from them. Answer them in their troubles. Come near. Rescue them. Redeem them." (Psalm 69:17). The interns also encounter the men wearing long white robes and often have dyed their beards with red henna. We all pray for these men, "That the eyes of their hearts may be enlightened in order that they may know the hope and riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe." We desire for them also to believe.

Last but not least, the interns have treasured their fill of children running up to them with arms wide open for an embrace. Sometimes young children will grab a hand to kiss it. Always they long for attention. Interns have spent hours upon hours at different schools playing games, correcting homework, wiping tears, teaching and serving the little ones. Jesus tells us we must become like children in order to enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is easy to forgot how that looks unless we spend time with them. None of this time in schools is wasted.

Everyone deserves to have the assurance of eternal life found in Jesus. My family cannot give out this message on our own. We praise God for the interns who help us and make an impact. Each one individually has something to offer and, when we minister together, we are stronger. All this to say, I hate goodbyes. They never get easier. No matter how long or short of a season someone has come into our lives, they have made a footprint across the hearts of us Witts. They have made a difference. They are missed.