Adios, Honduras...

We were so sad to have to leave Nueva Suyapa for the second time in two months, but did we ever get a great sending off! The night before we left, we were informed that some of the kids had a party planned for us, and they wanted at least two hours of our time. So at 7:30 on the dot, we had a group of the kids ready to escort us to one of the kids' houses, where we piled in like sardines to the cheers and applause of many of our friends. There was no question that we were going to be treated like royalty after that welcome. Even some of the parents came to join in the festivities, and thankfully, our friend Anna came down to join us too. We really don't know what we would have done without her in Honduras, and it was only fitting that she would be there with us.



There were decorations, speeches, dancing, and lots of food. Yes, they had pooled their money together and gone down to the local chinese restaurant (which I did not know existed before) to buy heaping quantities of arroz chino (Chinese rice... basically fried rice) and chop suey. I don't know how they managed to do that, but we were floored by the extravagant generosity. Plus, they asked Maureen to bake a delicious strawberry cake, which was a huge treat. The caveat, of course, was that we had already eaten dinner with a group of people at Chris and Mo's and we didn't realize that they would serve us plates big enough to feed a small village. We asked Anna if we could get away with eating, say, half the plate. Her response: "Um, you should probably try and finish it all. Just don't think about it and eat quickly." We thought we might burst by the end of the meal.

Saying goodbye is always hard. We told them that we'd just have to say, "Nos vemos," instead, which means loosely, "We'll see each other". There were many tears. Especially this one sweet boy who threw himself into Reade's body as soon as there weren't too many people around and just bawled and held on for as long as he could.




Dancing



The Guests of Honor Eating
(our camera was usurped from us during the party, so we had about 20 of these pictures by the end of the night, most of which were blurry)





Our yummy strawberry cake



The next morning, many people came to send us off with cards and lots of hugs and tears. Maureen gathered everyone together and prayed for us, and then we did our best to say, "Nos vemos," to all of these sweet friends who had claimed a piece of our hearts. We left those pieces there with them, and felt the heartbreak as we rode down the hill, away from Nueva Suyapa, and toward a different life altogether.