Goodbye - for now

Early to rise - gads, it really is early! The Japanese have a flight that leaves at 8:05 AM, so we meet them at the hotel at 6:00 AM. Everything gets loaded into the cars, and we head for Lambert Saint Louis International Airport.

Check-in is not too bad, except that two of the partners have overweight luggage. One suitcase is only about 4 lbs over, so a little redistributing seems to take care of it, but the other bag is seriously overweight - 15 lbs! The overweight charge is dreadful, but my partner opts to pay it. (Note to self - bring an extra suitcase to the airport next time! It would have been a lot cheaper to check another bag.)

Theckla's group arrives while our partners are checking in, so after her group finishes, we get everyone together for some group pictures. Then we head downstairs to the security checkpoint.

Here we visit for a few more minutes, but as the line moves towards the "no-pass" zone, we finally say goodbye, and move off in opposite directions, the Japanese to a long plane flight home and the Americans to church and home activities here.

It's hard to believe that a little more than a week ago, none of us knew more about each other than names and faces. We already have a shared set of memories from the Washington, D.C., meetings and our sightseeing and school visits during the past week, with many more activities and experiences yet to come. I look forward to our Spring BUGS count and the return visit this summer when I head for Japan.