Goodbyes

So today marked the beginning of what I feel will be the longest/hardest summer of my life. I had to say goodbye to three really good friends of mine. Two of them will be coming back to live in Kampala which is only 1 1/2 away, but it still won't be the same, and the other, is going back to America for good. God has blessed me so much with these friends - from pool parties, Lost nights, and a Kampala trip, in just a few short months they have become some of my closest friends and it's so incredibly hard to say goodbye to them.

If that wasn't enough, in about a month another two of my closest friends are also set to leave. Ryan should be moving to Karamoja late June/ early July and my friend Judy will be going back to the States in a month if everything goes smoothly with the little girl she is adopting. Ryan, Judy, and I have been the "Three Amigos" for about a year now and losing my big brother and sister is going to be so hard, I really can't even begin to fathom it. Then Rochelle, who has been living here with us since before I came back for furlough will also be moving on to other things. Then...on top of that, Jess and Bev will be going on furlough for three months at the beginning of July through the end of September.

So there you have it, the eight people that I cherish the most in life here in Africa will be gone (even if some will only be gone for a couple of months). Being surrounded by ministry, you seriously HAVE to have close friends to help you maintain sanity and to encourage and pray for you. I have been so blessed by all these people and I'm definitely confident in how God is able to bring new friends and that during that time He will teach me amazing things, but it's still so hard!

The picture above is of us at the pool - everyone there except myself will be gone by the end of the summer.