First tears

It's been a week of goodbyes, beginning with Wednesday night. It's been a bit of a whirlwind because my sister and friends were in town for part of the week, along with trying to meet with as many students as possible. This generally meant late nights and early mornings. Wednesday night we celebrated one year of the "capella universitaria" (the evangelical chapel near the university) being open for one year. This also coincided with goodbyes to my friends Emiliana, Annamaria, and Maria Teresa. For the first time, things were starting to sink in... that I was leaving. The next day we spent the afternoon trying to figure out how to handle bills and spending time with our friend Anto. Hoping to see her the next day, I suppressed any sadness (also because she's planning on coming to Florida in August!!!). Friday I met with a friend early in the morning and was able to pray with her - that she would be a light on campus to her friends and classmates. That night I told Andrea I would be praying for him as he travels to Malawi for a month with Agape Italia.. Saturday we made our way to the small town Oliveto where our friend Renzo lives. He showed us everything from the olive trees to the water buffalo used to make the famous mozzarella di buffala. Back in Salerno, we went out with friends Matteo and Vinesa. More goodbyes. A trip to the boys' place to say goodbye to Nico Zanzara and a stop by our favorite pub (Easyriders) to see Andrea Mandato and others one last time started putting things in perspective...
I am actually leaving. I actually had an impact. It's amazing how much you don't even realize it while you're "doing ministry". These people have been a huge part of my life here. They are why I came...
This morning we went to my last day at church. The pastor asked us to come up and say something. One of my team leaders, Rick, thanked the church for being so encouraging and supportive this year. The pastor asked the rest of us if we wanted to say something. I simply signed to him that if I spoke, I would cry - it got me off the hook. I lasted through church, but with another goodbye to Guiseppe and other MLK students, I lost it. It took me until goodbyes were finished at church, but I regained control of my emotions.

My biggest fear right now: coming to the realization that my time in Italy has ended halfway across the ocean and having a sobfest next to strangers.... Hopefully God will help me through it.
In the words of Rosita today "Non vai solo. Con Gesu." I'm not going alone. I'm going with Jesus.