Season of Friends

If I could pick a phrase that describes the time from the middle of July and throughout August, it would be "season of friends." Friends have come here to live, friends have come here on a visit, I have gone to visit some friends, and some friends have gone back to the States.

While I was in training, there were two people who led our group and told us about what life was going to be like here. I have the fine privilege of now living with them in my city. Not only that, but, until two days ago, they were living six floor underneath me. This special couple arrived the middle of July and we welcomed them with a biscuit and gravy, French toast casserole, and fruit brunch. Oh, and coffee too! Being jetlagged and only getting 5 hours of sleep, the coffee was a must. The past weeks have been absolutely wonderful having them here. They came back to the field as "empty nesters", so the two gals upstairs (yes, I'm one of them), were happy to fill the empty nest. Their support, thoughtfulness, listening ears, open hearts, and presence have been a literal Gsd-send for me.

A few days after I welcomed this couple back into my life, I had to say "good-bye" to some friends. The two gals that welcomed us to the city, showed us the ropes, introduced us to their friends, and were our go-tos for questions about just about everything. Their two year term was up and they returned to the homeland. We had a dinner to send them off (Mexican, my favorite). One of my favorite memories was all 20 of us crowding around a table meant for 6-8 and enjoying each other together.

Not too many days after that my friend, Laura, came. I did language school with her in the country east of here and it was wonderful to see her again. She has continued to live and serve in that country, so it was fun to hear about her adventures and also about all my old friends and acquaintances from there. She stayed with us for about 3 days and we did lots of shopping, eating, and Olympics watching.

The beginning of August brought something I had been looking forward to for many months—a retreat. It was a time when Workers from across our region gathered together. I saw several friends from training I hadn't seen in a while, as well as Lindsey (also from the country to the east). A group of about 20 people from a Fellowship in Tennessee came to bless us by leading worsh.p and teaching throughout the three days we were together. The Fellowship in TN was the same Fellowship that sent the group of college student volunteers around Christmastime last year. There were a couple of familiar faces in that group that I was glad to see again.

The retreat was really just what I needed. Although it was still in my city, it was over 1.5 hours away and out in the country/village area, so it felt like I went on a road-trip destination vacation of sorts. There were so many wise women there who I visited with and were a healing balm on my soul. A good friend/mentor from the capital came, as well as people from the south, and my language supervisors from the country to the east. I spent several hours just soaking up their wisdom. The yummy and plentiful food and pool were also a nice perk, as well as all the amenities of an "American" hotel. Oh, I forgot to mention, we stayed at a hotel owned by Best Western. Can you believe that? A Best Western in South Asia!

After a few days breather, I went to Nepal. If you've been following my travels, you'll remember I've been to Nepal three times before and really loved the place! I stayed with friends in their very nice, spacious flat. Because of a transportation bunt (aka strike), we didn't do a whole lot there, but I had some great time to relax and visit with friends. Of course, there was some good food too, including a bacon cheese burger, waffles, momos, and a homemade Mexican meal.

The only bad thing about all these visitors is for some reason I took basically no pictures. As my mom would say, "You'll have to picture it in your mind and remember it for later."

And the fun hasn't stopped yet! In a little over an hour, Julie's parents are going to arrive and be here for a week! Stay tuned… Don't worry, I've dusted off the camera!