So how's it been?

This is usually the first question we hear from friends these days.  How's it been since Anna and Abby left?

outside the girls' apartment as we headed off to the airport two weeks ago last Friday

It's a legitimate question.  Pretty much since our first days here, we were like a family of six. Though the girls lived in a separate apartment (albeit only one floor below us), we were together daily.

I have to say I was concerned about how Ellie and Reni would take their departure.  The past 24 months have been marked by HUGE transition for them since we left Kentucky.  First, they left the only home they ever knew (August 15, 2012).  Then they called the family farmhouse in Illinois their 'temporary' home in between extended trips all over the eastern United States visiting many different people for the next 13 months.  Then, in September 2013 we said goodbye to the most permanent people in their lives: their grandparents and cousins and other special family members and move to a new country with a strange (to them) language.  

We spend eight months in Albania.  That may seem like a blink of the eye to most of you, but for us Waggoners, eight months marks the longest we have remained in the same place since we moved out of our student center apartment in June 2012 to start transitioning that ministry over to the new directors. During these past eight months in Albania the kids met a whole new batch of people, but the only ones they could communicate with understandably on a consistent basis were Nathan and I and Abby and Anna.

You can see why we might be a tad concerned.

So what did we do?  We didn't ignore the fact that a 'goodbye' was coming.  We told them from the beginning that it was just for this school year.  Then, a couple of months out, it was discussed with more regularity.

We gave permission for the kids to feel and express normal emotions associated with grief and transition.  I think a lot of parents in our position fear their children developing calloused hearts as a means of protecting themselves from pain.

To be sure, knowing that Anna will be returning in August to teach at GDQ (a private Christian school in Tirana) made it a tad easier that this farewell was really more like a 'see you later!'

But I think it was Providential that from before our feet landed on Albanian soil, we had planned a thank-you trip/vacation just prior to the girls' departure.  It was the perfect way to end our time together, making fun memories apart from the rigors of school and ministry demands and appointments.

And lest you think the kids weren't attached to their teachers, Reni still speaks adoringly of his Miss Abby.  As we were reading his writing journal this weekend, we noticed that several of his entries ended with "I love you."  I'm pretty sure the message was not written to himself, but for the teacher who was giving his daily writing prompt and checking his spelling. ;-)  And we still hear the occasional story about "Miss Frizzle" (Anna) and the time machine in which they traveled through history.

Yeah -- if you send us a care package, throw in a box of that pre-cooked bacon and Reni will love you forever.

To be sure, it's not just the kids who miss the girls!  No one else knows as much as 'A and A' about what these first eight months in Albania have been like for us.  I find myself shooting off a random little e-mail here or snapping a photo of something on my phone and sending it off to them there.  It's also a little strange to not consider them in our decisions anymore, for everything from planning meals to staying longer in the village.

So while they are missed, I feel just as much gratitude.  Gratitude not just for their service to our children and family, but gratitude for them and their experience.  They embraced Albania wholeheartedly and talk about when they'll return (Anna sooner than Abby, of course, but I'm confident that Albania is a part of Abby now for the rest of her life, regardless of if/when she returns).  They made an impact on so many while they were here too -- the girls of Vlashaj are now pros at receiving a true American bear hug, thanks to Abby and many a village home is no doubt decorated with some original craft conceived by Anna's ever-creative brain for kid's club.  There is no doubt in my mind that their presence drew some in who had been drifting out on the perimeter of involvement back into regular participation in programs.  I also don't think it's a coincidence that attendance at kids club has also been at steady levels with the return of creative contributions in fun craft projects and also the addition of a beautiful space.

They were fantastic pioneers for what I hope might be a regular part of what we do here -- hosting volunteers here who want to exercise their spiritual gifts in a cross-cultural setting, aiding in God's Kingdom growth in this little corner of the Balkans (maybe you know someone who might want to do something like Anna and Abby this past year, either here or somewhere else in the world -- click here).

But being a pioneer isn't easy.  Pioneers didn't settle the West knowing the life they would find at their destination, traveling in comfortable vehicles on interstate highways with detailed signage, guided by a GPS.  Abby and Anna knew next to nothing about Albania, the language, the climate, the culture.  They knew they would teach our children, but that was about all. No doubt thanks to Abby's and Anna's experience, future volunteers will have a better idea of what their future ministries might resemble.  Their expectations will be a little more clear, their preparation (by us) a little more organized, and their living space a little more comfortable (did I post here that the girls didn't have hot water for washing dishes for 2 weeks because we didn't know to turn on their kitchen hot water heater before they arrived?),   We have learned from our mistakes, grown in our understanding, and of course gained more experience.

Thank you, A&A.  We will always, always appreciate what you gave us this year. Blessings on what God has for you next!  May you see His abundant provision just as you served as His abundant provision for us!

Click below to see a brief video of pictures from Anna and Abby's time here!


Anna & Abby