The time has come to pack our bags and say goodbye to the place we have called home for the last two years. We came with no experience, not knowing what to expect, but willing to learn and grow and see what God was doing in Peru. The time has flown and we understand clearly now why it is advised you spend at least 2 years in the place you choose to serve.
We have only just started to feel at home, to feel comfortable with our surroundings, not getting sick, knowing the transport systems, and feeling like this is home. So although we are excited to be going back to Australia and to see our loved ones, our hearts are also aching. We are a contradiction: joyful but sad.
We are leaving a piece of our hearts here with our new friends and family. We have spent the last two years walking and talking with people and now that weekly time won’t be there. We miss them even though we haven’t yet left, yet we are so excited to see family in Australia that we have missed so much.
We talk about the joy of returning and the sadness of leaving. We have said it’s like having your heart in two places, each pulling that it feels it might just break, but when all is said and done I wouldn’t change any of it.
My heart is full and I am more blessed than I would have been if we didn’t come. I have seen life through different eyes, I have talked with people with different experiences and I have shared life with my Christian brothers and sisters and now we share a bond forever.
My heart is full. It hurts, but it is full because it has known love, friendship, grace, and trust in a new place and I am thankful to God for this opportunity to have loved and known our friends and family in Arequipa