Well, I have been back at home now for a few weeks. Hardly seems like it should be the end of May already! Washington was gorgeous.I was truly blessed to see my Washington family again and to spend time with Erika.
I arrived on Friday, April 27th and spent a lovely few days with the Heins'. Saturday afternoon, Erika arrived with another friend from college, Mary, who had just spent the week with Erika at her apartment on Whidbey Island. After church on Sunday, Erika, Mary and I travelled back to Whidbey Island.
The next week and a half was filled with talking, laughing, movie watching, singing, dishwashing, cleaning, in short FRIENDSHIPPING. I was able to enter into Erika's world - a little bit - to see how things run and to not just hear about them on the phone. I met the friends she has made since we were both in college together - shared some laughs over just how similar some of us are :D
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| She was so proud of her chocolate cheesecake - it was delicious |
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| Tabitha |
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| Anna and I |
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| Kayla |
As for meetings, the first Sunday I was in Washington, I spoke for 20 minutes at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Snohomish. I had been given the opportunity to speak there when Mom, Dad, and I were 'Way Out West' for part of my graduation trip in 2010, so it was good to go back again. They are a wonderful body of believer's and I felt very welcomed. Plus, getting a whole 20 minutes in a service? wow! I don't think I was able to thank Pastor Grady enough. I was able to speak at a Ladie's Bible Study, had my first one-on-one home meeting - exciting times, spoke at Family Bible Church in one of their Sunday School classes - they gave me the whole hour! I had 40 minutes to present and then we had a really good question and answer time for 20 minutes.
I was able to meet up with Dr. Hall who served for many years both in Ecuador and Haiti. He took me out for lunch and then all over the island showing me different areas and explainging things to me about the island. We had lunch at a very nice little restaurant overlooking the harbour. Our conversation revolved around Haiti and serving, living, working there and especially about language study. His advice? Go to Port-au-Prince and become immersed in it before you ever set foot on the Campus in Cap-Haitien where you will be sorely tempted to neglect language study and work at the Clinic. On Monday Erika and I were invited to dinner at the Lucero's - a couple just starting with One Mission Society. I had met them a few weeks before when they were at HQ for their interview and had babysat their kids for the morning of meetings, so it was good to touch base with them again. We had a wonderful night of fellowship before heading to the Sea-Tac airport to pick up another good friend from college, Kristina.
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| Kristina bringin 'the goods' ;) |
Kristina and I formed a "Three Musketeers" on campus - Erika being the last to join was our "D'artagnan"! We now form a small "Fellowship of the King" (from Lord of the Rings). Oh the happy times we have shared and continue to share together.
On Tuesday morning Kristina and I walked to the school where Erika teaches - we bought ourselves breakfast along the way and brought lunch with us! I believe her students were highly amused to meet us, Erika kept telling us we were something of celebrities to them. I played true to form and threw in a few Pippinish comments during her English lesson - chief of which was to proclaim that the object pronoun of you was yom (why not? if the object pronoun of who is whom?) Alas this was to be my parting comment as I was shortly thereafter escorted from the room by a stern faced Frodo (Kristina) so that Sam (Erika) could finish teaching in peace. :D
Tuesday evening the main purpose for my trip came into being. My first ever church missions committee meeting. To say I was nervous is an understatement! But I was confident that this was where the Lord had led me. So though, I didn't feel brave, (Erika has told me on different occasions that: "Being brave is not the absence of fear but acting in spite of it.") after a short time of prayer with Erika I faced the challenge at hand knowing not only that He was with me, but had gone before me! Prepared the way even! How blessed the thought.
