Saying our Good-Byes

Last night was a fun yet bittersweet night. We traveled to the home of the Coordinator of the Exchange student program that we have been working with. My mom met her at a AAA Travel show. They had a booth set up and my mom seeing that they worked with students from the Philippines mentioned to V, the coordinator, that we were adopting from the Philippines. The student at the show happened to be a student from the Philippines. We first met with her and V before we even travelled to learn more about the Philippines. After coming home, they came to our home shortly after our return. Jay-R chatted in Tagalog with her and played with her. On their second meeting three weeks, while he didn't speak in Tagalog with her, he understood everything she said in Tagalog and answered appropriately only in English. He had fun playing with her and singing some songs in Tagalog. Fast forward to last night. We enjoyed a fun night complete with Filipino spaghetti which was wonderful. Jay-R and W played some, swang on the sing, and chatted. We snapped a lot of pictures so he will always have those pictures. When it was time to go, he hugged her really tight as V told him, "The next time you see W, you'll be all grown up." The thought of that makes me sad in so many ways...to think of Jay-R all grown up and then to think it will be that long before we see W again. We plan to stay in touch with her through email and written communication. V has told us she is committed to finding Filipino students in our area every school year. The student for next year still needs a host home. Kory and I are thinking next school year (10-11) we will be ready but now with Jay-R starting school this fall and Ash starting middle school maybe it would be a bit too much. We are going to pray about it. W and V created the International Sibs Society to connect exchange students with internationally adopted children. This has been such a blessing for our family and for W as well. We are so thankful...she is such a loving, sweet girl with a beautiful smile. We will miss her but we wish her well as she returns to the Philippines. V is also accompanying her and they will go visit at White Cross, Jay-R's orphanage. I can't wait to hear about those experiences!