Goodbyes are important in Chad.  It doesn’t necessarily matter how long you have known someone or how well you know them, it is important that you say goodbye to them before you leave.  I once had a friend that I hadn’t seen for 6 months stop by the house to tell me that he was traveling to the capital city and simply wanted to communicate a farewell.

So, in the final days before we left Abeche, we went around to say our goodbyes to many neighbors and friends throughout Abeche.  We let them know that we were traveling to see our family and friends, all of whom had not met Hadassah yet (this particular comment always agreeable head nods that we needed to let our parents meet their granddaughter).

On the last day, we went to say goodbye to our dear friend and house helper, Fatuma.  Her children were dressed in their nice school uniforms.  She had made “french fries” for us, which she knew we loved, but had troubles coming out of the kitchen to enjoy them with us.  Why?  She was crying.  So was Sonja.  They will miss each other a lot during this time we are away, as well as the kids.  Keep Fatuma and her family in your prayers.

Here is a picture from our last day together:

buy Prozac online