A Very Happy Homecoming

We’ve been counting down to December 4 for five weeks. December 4, the day Daddy, Kayci, Eliza and Saleh come home!

The four of them have been in the United States—Eliza and Saleh’s first trip to America. It was a whirlwind tour—five states in five weeks. They met the director of the Museum of Natural History, saw a Broadway Show (Godspell!), experienced trick-or-treating for the first time, went to Disneyland, visited nine schools, hosted a screening of a new documentary featuring our girls, and met with many special friends of JBFC.

Back in Kitongo, we have been anxiously awaiting their return. For the past week, the girls have been sprucing up the campus and making signs to welcome everyone “at” home.

Liku, Neema and Rose even gave me a by-line on the sign. My major contribution was telling them how to mix colors to get “brown.”

Yuge and Salome are standing next to one of the “Welcome at home” signs they hung throughout the house.

“Welcome at Tanzania Dady. How about America? I love you so much Dady. From Veronica.”

“Welcome Dad, Kayci, Elizabeth, and Saleh. Fiel at home. We was miss you all and we love you all. By Anna.”

After flying from New York through Istambul and Nairobi, our favorite jet-setters finally arrived at Mwanza’s airport…

…with sixteen bags! As you can see, we needed a little help getting it all to the car.

I should stop to mention how wonderful homecomings are at JBFC. One of my best memories from the past two months is when eight of our girls went to Rwanda shortly after I arrived in Kitongo. Though they were only gone four days, you would have thought it was a year, given the jubilant reception they received from everyone upon their return. There were hugs, tears, screams of joy and laughter as we greeted the long-awaited and thoroughly-missed girls.

This welcome reception was much the same way. As we pulled around the corner and down the final stretch of dirt road leading to the campus, they pointed out all the changes—a new roof on the secondary school, the blossoming rozella plants, and baby goats that have been born since they left.

And then, thirty-eight girls came running from every direction, yelling and cheering as they ran alongside the van.

As we opened the sliding doors, we were instantly mobbed.