Yesterday evening the time to say goodbye to Azhan and his mother came closer and closer. Over the last few days, our small guesthouse was filled with joy and anticipation for this great day when they would finally start their journey back to Kurdistan. It started with our little farewell party. The past few weeks, Azhan’s mother and the other mother who was staying with us, were taking such good care of us and always cooked such delicious food for us.
Last evening, it was then our turn to cook. We were glad that Azhan and Mohammed (the other Kurdish child) were enjoying our pizza so much. The rest of the evening got a little emotional when Azhan’s mother called her husband to translate for us how thankful she was. She told us how much she loves us and will miss us. I felt so much love for our little band. Azhan’s mother told us that during this time, we became like little sisters to her. In the same way I will miss this family so much. They have been such a big blessing to our community and we all are so thankful for the time we spent together with them.
Last night, Azhan and his mother, and another Kurdish family staying in our guesthouse, Mohammed and his mother, and coworker Berith and I, all of us took the train together to Ashdod where we could get a few hours of sleep. At 3 am in the morning we then finally made our way to the airport and after another two and a half hours, we had to say goodbye for the last time.
I must say how much I enjoyed the last few days with Azhan and his mother. I’ve never experienced so much joy and laughter in our house than in those few days. From when they were told that they could finally fly back to Kurdistan until this day, our two boys suddenly became so active and were almost every single minute together. And Azhan’s mother always had a big smile on her face when she saw us.
In the end, all of us were so happy for Azhan and his mother, that they will see their family again after almost two months. We will miss them in our small community here in Jerusalem, but wish them all the best. Thank God for healing Azhan and for bringing him and his mother safely back to his family.