The Volunteers Say Their Goodbyes

I spent last night and the morning helping get the volunteers off back to Bejing and then on to the US. So many goodbyes and words being exchanged to express in our bad mandarin what our hearts were feeling as we visited our friends one last time. We had a meeting so I could get fedback from what they saw and there were too many observations to list. One friend expressed "how comfortable we are in America and how she never realized it, but would appreciate her life even more" another committed to having a couple of sales to help us further our work.

Others were marveling at "how big a diffference a little money makes in the right hands". Others wept over the stories they heard of the amazing brave and courageous people we encountered. Others made friends they will not soon forget. But all of these volunteers had a life changing experience and only time wil tell what they will do about that. My hope is that our time with them was an investment and will grow and be multiplied and they and their family and friends as they tell their stories wil be forever changed. How awesome to be able to have our work make such an impact in lives here in China and back inthe US too. Sustainable, Empowering, Change- I love these words, it is not a marketing slogan it is reality.