Goodbyes

It seems strange to write about goodbyes at the beginning of a semester, but I actually have a good reason. I was reminded of farewells by going to church last Sunday where over half of the faces were new. Because our church is mostly made up of foreign (mostly U.S.) exchange students and faculty, every semester half our church leaves and a new half comes in. We just get attached to one group of students and faculty and then they leave! This Sunday I was excited to meet the new folks, but last semester I did not feel that way at first because we were mourning the leaving of some very dear friends of ours.

Their names were Ben & Wendy who were here with their two children, Jonathan & Amy. Here we are pictured the last time we were together with Kevin, Karen and Claire. Ben & Wendy's kids were in the USA by this time so their parents could pack in peace. Wendy, Karen and I formed an immediate bond and had a fabulous year together here. Wendy constantly reached out to everyone around her - making food for people (she always made more than they needed so she could share it), inviting people over, spreading love, and constantly coming up with ideas of including people on outings or gatherings. Since we were both homeschooling, we did a lot of activities together and our kids got close as well. The guys all got along great too, so it was a lovely combination.

Ben, Wendy and kids are back in Texas, but we miss them so very much here.

Here is Baby Bear (Kendra) discovering Goldilocks (Amy - who truly has golden locks) in a book we made about Goldilocks and The Three Bears in the fall of 2006 (shortly after Kendra cut her hair . . . ).

Papa (Jonathan), Momma (Katrina), and Baby Bear (Kendra)!