Goodbye, Dodoma

A few months ago before I moved assignments from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma, I never thought that I would be sad when it came time for me to leave Tanzania. But now that the time has come to say goodbye to Dodoma, I am starting to realize how much of an impact my time here has had on me.

Today after our daily morning devotions, everyone decided to thank me and say nice things about me and how much they are going to miss me... I was really touched, and may or may not have started to cry (I was not expecting this, and once Leah started crying she made me cry). I know that I am going to miss Dodoma a lot, and I am very thankful for each and every person that I have grown close with. These past few months have taught me a lot and I feel very blessed for this amazing opportunity not only to serve others, but more importantly for all that I have learned from others.

Friday is the day that the income generation group meets at the church, and this afternoon they had a surprise for me: they sang me a song and presented me with a khanga (traditional african fabric) which they wrapped around me, and then they each said goodbye and hugged me. It was very special.

With all that said, I am also unbelievably excited about returning home to Seattle. I fly out from Kenya on Wednesday and then will be in Akron, PA for a few days of debriefing with the other SALTers. I will be arriving in Seattle on the 27th... and I am so excited to see everyone it's not even funny!

How is it possible that I can feel so sad about leaving one place, but at the same time feel ready and excited to be in another place?