Saying Good-Bye....

I can not believe that in less than 48 hours we will be on our way to a new country, a new home and a new church. Saying good-bye is a hard thing for me to do. While we all mean well....sometimes your old friends find new ones and the distance between you grows and you seem to be too busy for each other. I know that the past nine months have flown by and yet it seems that every waking moment we had something to do or somewhere to go.

 I miss all of my friends from North Carolina dearly along with all of our family. I am also going to miss all of the friends that we have made here and the children who have been a big part of our lives here. It is amazing to think that some of them are here simply because their parents did not want them anymore. I love each one of them and pray that God will guide and direct them so that they can do great things for HIM.

Josiah is going to miss his best buddy Caleb. They are just a few months apart and have spent the last nine months together. We will have to work hard at incorporating things from the USA into his daily life. For without it he will not know or see much about the country where he was born.

We have been packing our bags all week and we have a total of 13 bags going to Costa Rica. It was a tough job trying to pack for a year.....I am going crazy from looking at luggage and weighing each piece. LOL! Who knew packing could be so difficult. I can not imagine Michelle Duggar( 19 kids and counting) traveling much. I mean for goodness sake she would need her on plane for her family and luggage alone. LOL. We each have 2 bags plus three carry ons....hers would be close to 40 bags.

Well, we have added a SKYPE number for all of you who would like to be able to call us. It is a local number for North Carolina but any out of state people if you have Skype it is free from "S" to "S".  Our number is 919-809-7647. We can have video stream so that we can see each other. However, if you do not have a web cam you can still see us we just can' see you. We had an exciting treat....

Mark's mom and dad drove all the way down from N.C. to see us off. It has been nice to spend the week with them. They along with Pastor Mike and Ms. Chris will see us off at the airport on Monday morning.

Here is my last thought before we get settled in to our new home next week unless I can get some more time to type. This journey has been such a blessing to me and our family. The Lord has really helped me to prepare my heart for the love that I get to share with the children who receive no love. I have heard a bunch of people say that they could not love anyone more than their spouse or more than their own children. Well, I am hear to say that you have just never opened your heart. I have more love pouring out of my heart for the kids here and in Honduras than I could even tell you about.

 I also have a new respect and love for all of the people who answer God's call to become missionaries. It can be a tough road, a discouraging road and even sometimes a lonely road. I challenge you to try and contact the missionaries that your church supports and let them know that you are lifting them up in thoughts and prayers. God himself loved HIS son JESUS enough to share him with the whole world so that through him we might be saved. He gave us a whole book of encouraging words to read daily and we should be willing to do the same for our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are really going to miss everyone not only away in North Carolina but our new FAMILY here at HOPE in Tampa.  We love you all.