It was so nice to land in Benin and have welcoming arms there to greet me at the airport and to turn onto the dock and be excited to see the ship. As sad as I am to be leaving my family back in Illinois, it is great to have my family here so glad to have me back.
One thing about living on this ship is you are continuously saying hello and saying good-bye. People come and go almost everyday. It is just part of what we do. God's timing is amazingly evident in this process. In the way he brings 2 strangers in on the same flight who will grow to be close friends, who rely on each other throughout their time here and beyond. I have only been here about a week and have already said good-bye to 2 friends who I met before I left in July and who have been serving here in my absence, now it is their turn to go. I am still no good with saying good-bye, but I am learning with every one of them that it is better to say good-bye than to have never had the opportunity to say hello.
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go to a friend's daughter's 3-year old birthday party on the beach. Clementine translates for us on the ship and I was honored to be invited to her daughter's party. There were 5 of us invited from the ship and we were welcomed right into the festivities like we were part of the family. It was a lot of fun and I will cherish the memories from afternoon's like this one.
great blog-thanks for sharing and giving us a glimpse of life on the other side of the planet.
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh out loud at the "attitude" picture. There is no language barrier for that look is there? lol
ReplyDeleteA. Janet
Thanks for the post Maggie. Keep them coming! I really love reading what God is doing in your life!
ReplyDeleteAlyssa
"but I am learning with every one of them that it is better to say good-bye than to have never had the opportunity to say hello."
ReplyDeleteI love this - such a great reminder that everyone that comes into our life, even just for a season, makes an impact.