Farewell Party…

I praise God for the peace He has given my family and the staff. Finally I was able to convey why we were leaving. Maybe if I had done that a month ago, the last few weeks wouldn’t have been so confusing to them.

All the St. Louis staff came – about 200 of them. We started the evening with a few songs, a few special dancers, several jokes, and then I spoke. A long time ago we had a staff meeting where I had to tell them they had to pay taxes. I had brought out bowls of candy and had them fill their mouths full so that they couldn’t yell out when I told them the news. They laughed how clever that was! So I did the same thing last night. We brought out bowls of candy and I had them fill up their mouths before I spoke!

I talked for about 25 minutes. There were moments where I cried and other moments where I laughed. They understood the calling. I ended by telling them that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. I need to go to the Mole so I can add on to our Christian family. That this is an exciting time! That the same sun that rises with them is the same sun that rises in the Mole. That every morning we get to rise together!  God laid the words on my heart to bring unity.

They sat at the tables the whole time while food was constantly brought to them. There were break-dancers there that totally made us laugh. With their bodies they created a bicycle. I thought I was watching Cirque du Soleil for a moment. I had come up with a few jokes about certain staff members that I wanted to share and others had come up with a few songs they wrote about me. We laughed till we cried.

At the very end – each department had a representative come up front and tell stories. Some from when I was just a little kid and some from the past few years. I had forgotten about so many of the things they shared. It was really beautiful. It was 10pm before we finished.

We made one large circle and prayed Haitian-style – all together, out-loud. Then everyone came and hugged us good-bye.

I felt very honored. It was truly humbling.

I thank God for giving us this special night. Something I will never forget. I believe we all have closure and finally peace!

We are ready to leave the past behind and begin our new adventure. Amen!