Good-byes again and again and again....

We are now at the airport in Tallinn after a crazy early start to our day.  When we left our hostel just after 4:15 AM, we were sent off by about 10-15 students who surprised us by showing up and sending us off in style. They had stayed up all night and walked to the hostel from several kilometers away (arriving at the hostel at 3:15 to make sure that they did not miss us).  And, many of them had an even longer walk home!  We were clearly blown away by such a show of affection. AND then, when we got here to the airport, we were even more surprised when one of the students showed up here to say good-bye to us.  She had hitch-hiked all the way from Tartu to make sure she got here in time to say good-bye.  For many of these students, there is no doubt that their lives were changed by their encounter with our team.  I can say this b/c for the most part I only got to know the students from a distance - it was the rest of the team that loved the students with a gentle tenaciousness that can barely be fathomed.  These students came to church last night with gift after gift for their small group leaders, notes, jewelry, t-shirts, sweaters and on and on.  It was overwhelming to see such an overflow of love.  Thanks for making this happen.  We all come home to you guys changed in huge ways by what God did in us - AND by the recognition that we were privileged for Him to work through us to further his story in Estonia.  We know that there are so many details that we need to share....we are working on that and will get those posts up as soon as we can - thanks for continuing to check in on us and our stories.   And thanks for your prayers as we begin a 19 hour journey back to Atlanta.  Although we'll be tired and probably a bit smelly and grumpy when we walk off the plane in Atlanta in something like 20 hours, please know that we are excited to see you and we come home with a little of our hearts left in Estonia...