How to Say Good-bye?

Just a couple of weeks ago Carolina, one of the girls from the older girl’s home, moved out. Her sister came with a signed court order that authorized the move. In less than two hours, Carolina said good-bye to all the girls as well as the tias and with the help of the other girls in the home packed up her stuff. She and sister left in a taxi with 3 suitcases and a black garbage bag and headed to the bus terminal. They were going back to Santa Cruz where the rest of her family lives.

As she was moving her stuff from the house to the taxi, she said good-bye one final time to everyone. When she said good-bye to me, tears started to roll down my cheeks. I was at a loss of words and could only express myself through my tears. I could not even make eye contact with her as she left through the door of the girl’s home that was leading her to the beginning of a new life. I did not want to see her leave. I was hoping that this was all a joke and I would see her the next time that I was at the girl’s home. Sadly, this was not a joke and she was in fact leaving.

As I thought more and more about my reaction to her good-bye, I was grieving for the loss of the physical presence of Carolina in my life. She and I had a connection on my first day of work. I rang the doorbell to the girl’s home and was very scared as to what was going to happen that day. However, I did not need to fear anything because she was there with me the entire time. She introduced me to all of the girls and the tias that worked there. She talked to me using very simple Spanish because I forgot every word in Spanish that I had just learned at the Maryknoll Institute. At lunch time, she included me in the prayer by asking God to take care of me during my time in Bolivia. From this moment, I knew that she was a special girl and was going to help me a lot during my mission. I was not sure how, but I was going to be fine here. She had given me the confidence that I needed.

My good-bye was not my best moment. I have never been great with saying good-bye to anyone. In fact, all of my good-byes turn into moments like the one that I just described. Then I wonder, how could this have been better? Is there another way to say good-bye without the involvement of crying? I do not know. Crying will just have to be part of my good-byes until I figure out another way.

Breaking Candy

So, there is a little girl that I work with. Her name is Arianna. She has only been living at the older girl’s home for about four months. She and her siblings were very famous here in Cochabamba for a while. A newspaper article told their story. She and her four siblings were left in a locked room for 3 days without food or anything to drink. However, it was normal for the mom in the family to do this but only for one day. When three days had past without sight of the mom returning home, the neighbors were worried and called the social services department. The social services department acted quickly with this phone call by taking them out of the home. Then, all five kids were placed with my ministry site because we had enough space in both homes to keep them together.

Now that Arianna and her sisters had been living at the home for quite some time, they have been invited to go on the annual vacation with the rest of the girls from the home. This year’s destination was Potosi and Sucre. These places are 12-15 hours away from Cochabamba. We used a bus to get there. It was during the bus ride that something amazing happened between Arianna and I. We were sitting next each other and someone had given her a gummie bear sort of treat. It was not very big which meant it could be eaten in one bite or maybe two bites. She took this small piece of candy and broke it in half. I was confused about what she was doing. Was she breaking it in half to save it for later or breaking it in half to savor the flavor more? She then looked at me and with her hand outstretched, she offered this half of her candy to me. She used no words, only gestures.

I think about this moment a lot every time that I see her at the girl’s home. I don’t view her as this little 5 year old girl who came from a sad situation, but as someone whose heart is full of love. She is a giver of what she has. For me, it was this tiny piece of candy that she offered me. And yet, this small piece of candy tasted sweeter than anything I have ever had in my life. It is a moment that I will always carry in my heart.