Make new friends, but keep the old...

Every time I think about making new friends I think of my sister standing on risers in elementary school  choir singing the song that goes "Make new friends, but keep the oooold. One is silver and the other gold.  A circle is round, it has no eeend, that's how long I want to be your frieend"  Then the song gets stuck in my head for a ridiculously long amount of time.  But I feel like that is constantly what I am doing in this crazy thing called life.  We make new friends and hopefully keep the old.  I consider myself incredibly incredibly blessed and broken all at the same time when it comes to friends.  Because of where the Lord has walked us through in life, I have friends all over the world.  It makes it easy when we want to visit somewhere :)  I love meeting new people and sharing life with others.  I love hearing people's stories and the testimonies of where the Lord has brought them and the journey of life that they are on.  I love seeing people's hearts.  I love being refined by other's strengths.  I love laughing with people and finding joy in the chaos.  I have been deeply impacted by the people in my life and I have been deeply loved.  I have experienced grace in ways that I never ever ever in a million years would experience on my own.  Yet, on the other hand friendship and relationships have caused heartache and hurt that seems unending at times and I HATE HATE HATE goodbyes.  While I do have friends in so many different countries all over the world, that is the problem.  They are in countries all over the world.  Not my next door neighbor.  Pieces of my heart are scattered in places I have never been, sent out with friends who I hold dear and long to be next to, but an ocean separates us.  Heaven will be so glorious to never shed a tear for another goodbye.  We recently made some new very very fun friends who have already made their way into the "gold" category as they have traveled on their way without knowledge of when we will meet again.  We met a group of people, some American, some South African, driving though Africa doing ministry along the way.  They got stuck here for about 6 weeks waiting for visas to come through to travel on and in that time we were blessed.  We shared many meals together, watched some baseball, played some games, and were encouraged in the Lord by each other's faith.  But, again, that dreaded day came and we had to say goodbye.  There is a constant temptation to harden myself and keep my heart far as I know that so many people will come and go in my life.  I want to love people well and deeply no matter the length or the cost.  I long to love as the Lord does, unabandoned.  That my life and love would be one that shines a light directly to the source of all Life.  I don't want to live "protected" and detached as I weave in and out of places and relationships, but I really want to be showing the sweetness that is offered in our relationship with the Lord.  I still have so far to go, and I still detest having to say goodbye, but I know that along with so many others, I am looking forward to that day of being reunited and never ever having to utter that word again with an embrace that you know has to break soon.  One day...

Here is everyone.  Ro, Adi, their little princess Aalayah, Sonja, Maari, Anna, Bownen, and Jay

These three were a giant ball of energy and yelling when they were together.  Elliot and Aalayah together made me so thankful that I never had twins.  They created ways of getting into things.  But the giggles were a sweet sound!!

Just hanging out :)

Here's Keenan "keeping the old"  The place where our new friends stayed was the apartment complex we used to live in.  The moment we would drive up, kids would come running yelling for Keenan.  This is Keenan and his buddy Chriso reunited!

Our guys and the kids from the neighborhood

Picking up right where they left off!!