Old Friends, New Family

One of the highlights of our trip this past month was the opportunity to visit with people we don't see very often. It was a blessing to renew long time friendships, catch up with family members and make new friends.

On our very first day of travel, we went to Nashville, TN and stayed overnight with Greg and Audre. I became friends with Greg and Audre when we all worked together at Glorieta Conference Center in New Mexico. We had 2 very fun summers together and made sweet memories! Then life happened, we grew up and went our separate ways. It's been 15 years since those "glory days," and we've hardly talked in those years. But, recently many of us have reconnected and last October, I had the opportunity to spend some time with Greg and Audre. They were so kind to open their home to us during our recent trip. We had a wonderful time of reliving the "good ol' days" and fellowshipping in the present. It was fun to see how God has been working in their lives.

I was also thrilled to spend some time with a friend from college. During my college years, my roomie (DeAnn) and the two girls in the room across the hall (Kathy and Robyn) became close friends. We had lots of fun together: we shared clothes, shared meals, we held Bible studies together, and much more. After college, we went in opposite directions, geographically, but have always stayed in touch via letters, emails, phone calls, etc.

Robyn and her hubby were called to the mission field and now live in a European country. Obviously, that makes getting together impossible. But this year, things worked out for us to actually see each other. Robyn and her family have been in the states this year on furlough and were in the KC/MO area while I was at my parents' home. I am so grateful that her family made the effort to come over and spend the afternoon with us. It was fun to talk face to face and get to meet her children.

Also while at my parents' house, my brother, his new wife and his son came to visit. I had never met my sister-in-law (they got married this past November) and was excited to do so. She is a sweet, lovely person and I'm glad we had the opportunity to get to know each other. A couple of weeks later, we spent a couple of days at their house in Southeast Missouri. They have a charming home and were wonderful hosts. One of the highlights of our stay with them was the dinner they treated us to at the Exotic Grill. Joel and I ate sushi for the first time in our lives!

Stay tuned....I also met a blog friend for the first time IRL. More on that later.