Though I really don't think I (Kristin) will be as emotional before we leave as some members of our nest, I am beginning to take pictures of things we have enjoyed for the last two years.
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| Kendall and Darnell |
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| evening sky out our front |
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Our mango tree...more fruitful this year than ever!
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| the palms and bougainvillea |
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| The twins |
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| driveway/front yard |
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| frangipane (amazing smell) |
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| More bougainvillea |
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| Good friends the Seeleys (with Francis Chan) |
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| Church life |
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| Our friends the Deans...Katie and CJ...these kids are like our own |
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| Kingdom Life Ladies and kids |
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| Time at the Mosses (from our first visit, this feels like 2nd home) |
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| More beautiful sky at our home |
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| More Kingdom Life friends |
As you can see, the beach hasn't really factored into the "missing" pictures. It has always been so comical to me that God sent us to a beachy island when we aren't really "beachy" people! Not that we don't love the sights and water...but we really can go a good long while without it and be just fine. And more comical still is that we are moving to a place in the U.S. where the beach is one of the most beautiful in the country...Destin Beach is only 30 minutes from Crestview. Perhaps the reason God matches up "non-beachy" people with "beachy places" is that he knows we won't be distracted by it. I never sit here homeschooling the girls and think, "Boy I wish we could just lay it all down and go to the beach." Neither is it a distraction for Keith at work, though he literally works 5 minutes from Paradise Island, where Atlantis sits. As we reflect on our time here, it is predominately the people and not the place we will miss. We do enjoy the perfumed night air scented of jasmine, frangipane, and other delightful scents. But the flip side is the smell of dead rat festering in the heat on a 90 degree day...which is quite common! Anyway, we know there will come many days in the future day when we will reflect back on our life here and all God has done in and with us. The highlights for us will always be Sunday mornings, our time spent serving in various ministries, and fellowshipping with our church both in our home and at church. This week we look forward to the Crossway Church of Lancaster e-team coming! The girls and I will be serving out at the camp which will serve as their "home base." Making breakfast and dinner and helping serve it will be a highlight for us as it was last summer when we served in June. We leave here in just a few hours to begin preparing dinner! Keep posted for pictures of the team as they land on our island!
I was holding up pretty well, until you said "The highlights for us will always be Sunday mornings...". I am beginning to realize the mere mention of "Sunday mornings" at Kingdom Life Church is now causing me to tear up. For the past couple months, Sunday mornings at church have been a source of many tears and fighting back tears for me--tears of the anticipated sadness from losing you and our son at almost the same time. A couple months ago, tears would only start to flow with certain songs during Sunday morning worship time. It then progressed to every song, then to merely walking into the auditorium on Sunday mornings and seeing Logan and the Buntings on stage preparing for worship time, and now to the just mention of Sunday mornings at Kingdom Life. I am so thankful that I know God is a God of comfort, and that since He has this all as a part of His plan, I can rest in His provision and care. You are indeed going to be missed, but knowing that our time on this earth is so minute in comparison to eternity and that God has plans for us, I am comforted in knowing that our sacrifice of physical presence will some day be rewarded with an eternity of getting to spend time together worshiping our Savior in Heaven!
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