The Gathering

This past week, I got to reunite with a bunch of friends that have also been living all over the world. It was so good to catch up with people I haven't seen in 2 years. It was also good to spend some time who are also dealing with a new life back in the States after living in the deserts of Africa, the crowded cities of Asia and the mountain tops of South America. It was good to share laughs, memories and even some difficulties and struggles with my fellow brothers and sisters. Above is a photo of the people that were in my orientation group that have returned to the States, except...
Katie, who is in the bottom left of this photo (I just couldn't leave here out- trust me!). You might also note that Rebekkah is laid out on the couch next to cruches. That would be due to a hurt ankle from a game of Ultimate Frisbee. Unfortunately for her, she managed to keep the tradition alive of injuries from frisbee in our group.


One of the big news items from the meeting was the engagement of Jayson and Jerri- Congratulations! A common occurance at the meeting was Aaron on his cellphone- who could he be talking to?


One person I was able to talk to quite a bit was "Cob". It was good to share my life with him and hopefully be a good listener for his stories also. God really used him to lift me up while I was on the field and He has continued to do that now that we are home. One person that didn't make it was my brother, Craig. So this photo below is for him. We decided if we couldn't get you in the photo, we could get your name. We missed you!


I hardly recognized this guy when I saw him- the face looked familar, but I couldn't quite place him... maybe that was because his hair was much longer and he wasn't wearing a cowboy hat. Finally, this was a fun shot with some of the girls when I was showing off my new computer- kinda Andy Warhol, huh?

Again, it was so good to see all of you and hear what God has done and is doing in your lives. It was fun to see the exotic dances of Central Asia and to finally learn how Afghans use that little kettle/flower pot thing. But most of all it was good to let the Spirit dwell amongst us and to know that we are not alone.