The hardest day yet

Today was the hardest day yet. We had to say goodbye to the children in the schools. After only one week of getting to know them I am completely devastated to leave. I have built this amazing friendship with them. They are the cutest, most loving kids in the world. I wanted to take most of them home with me. The day started out with us going to my village school. This is a younger group of kids, ages 3-10 and they are a mix of both girls and boys. We did not teach today. Today was all about having fun and playing with the kids. The little boy that I fell in love with was named Sajeep. He is the cutest thing I have ever seen. He totally loves me. He has these dark long eye lashes and the sweetest smile. I will miss him a lot. The village school did not fully understand that we were never coming back. I guess it is kind of a blessing because we did not have to deal with that hard goodbye. But I hope they don't come into school all disappointed this week. We are the best thing that has ever happened to these kids. We were told my a adult teacher that we were like the Disneyland to them. That was the sweetest thing I have ever heard. After we were done at the village schools we moved on to the day boarding school girls. These are all girls ages 6-14. They all knew that today was our last day together. It was so upsetting. But we made our last day count. We all played games, took pictures, and passed out gifts. I gave a teddy bear to my favorite girl Sarika. When it was time to say goodbye everyone was crying. The saddest part was the girls bawling and asking us not to go. I probably gave a hug to every single girl at least once before we left. Mongola, one of my other favorite girls was sad to see us go. She gave me so many hugs and told me that she loved me.

But the saddest goodbye was with Sarika. While I was hugging her I never wanted to let go. She was crying so hard. I have never had someone cry so hard in my arms. I was a wreck. I knew at some point I would have to, so I looked down into her crying face and I said “I love you with my whole heart, you will always be on my mind, and I will miss you.” I then gave her a hug and a kiss and walked away. I did not look back because I did not want to see her crying for me. I was already a mess. I hope she will be ok and she will do something great in her life. I want her and all the girls to have a better life than what they have now. They deserve so much yet have so little. That is why we came. To change their lives. I know for a fact we made a difference in their lives and they definitely changed mine. When we got in the cars all the girls were on the roof of the school waving and saying goodbye to us. They sang us a song while we drove off. You could also hear them all crying. It was such an emotional day. I have never felt this way before. It is so hard to describe my emotions. I just know that I am so happy I came on this trip. It felt so good to help other people and make them happy. It was great to be the Disneyland. -Holly Christensen