Leaving

We arrived at the orphanage the same time as we had all week long, but today was different.

We started out our morning meeting with the director who had invited a local college student to join us.  Over the next 5 months she will be helping our daughter with English lessons. Part of that help will include Skype calls with us every Friday.

It was cold so we left the orphanage and headed straight to the apartment.  

We kept the morning pretty laid back. We played a few games. She wrote down the Bulgarian alphabet for us. We looked at pictures and videos from the week.

She was hungry so she helped Aaron fry some eggs and ham. We let her try a fried egg both runny and cooked to see which she liked better. She boldly tried both.

We watched Frozen’s “Let it go” video while at the same time videoing her watching and singing it. Then we watched that video too.

We gave her a little down time and let her watch a Bulgarian show.

Then it was time to go. She helped us pack the artwork she gave us and we helped pack her backpack full of things we brought for her.

We stopped for a bite to eat and then walked back to the orphanage. We spent a little time there watching “Let it go” again. She said she would miss us.

She walked us to the gate again and along the way jumped into Aaron’s arms off the patio again several times.

We met one of the shift workers on her way in.  She told us that the night before our daughter had been calling out for "Mommy and Daddy".  Our daughter shared that she was dreaming of us, and seemed excited to let us know.

We got to the gate and she hugged us and kissed us several times. Jen tried to hold back tears. We walked away and she yelled for us and ran out and hugged us again. It was hard saying goodbye, but she walked away without tears and said goodbye.

She loves us and enjoys time with us, but anytime we talk about home and the kids, she shuts down. It is like she likes the idea of being with us, but there in Bulgaria, not in the US.

Just pray for her heart and for wisdom for us.

We are spending the night in Sofia. A car will pick us up early in the morning to take us to the airport and begin our trek home.

Thank you all again for your prayers.