FRIENDS - TRULY WONDERFUL BLESSINGS FROM GOD!

Tonight in our family prayer time Chris thanked God that we have been able to make friends quickly at all the places we've been.  I love how God blesses us with new friends all along our journey.  Here at Warm Beach Camp and Conference Center where God brought us during our transition to the mission field, He has once again provided the wonderful blessing of friendships.  We have met so many amazing people serving here at this Christian campground. The very first person to warmly welcome us here was Jessica who is the volunteer coordinator and helped us get set up here. She has such an upbeat personality and always has a smile on her face. I feel encouraged when I am around her. The first couple we met, a delightful retired couple who served in the ministry for years and now he serves here at the camp as chaplain. She always greets our kids with a hug and they taught us how to make stick bread. It's a very yummy biscuit baked over a campfire and then filled with jelly, chocolate, cinnamon & sugar, or whatever else you desire. Some time I hope to post pictures of it here on this blog. Then there's Jerry and his wife, Claudia, a retired couple who come here every summer to volunteer. We first got to visit with them for a pizza & movie night and enjoyed sweet fellowship.  Jerry is great with the kiddos, like another grandpa to them. Goodness, there are just so many here who make us feel like family and are so encouraging and welcoming.

Then there's this wonderful family that is pictured here with us, another family with lots of kids and hearts desiring to go where God sends them. Stephanie and Fred and their 5 children, came to the camp a couple of weeks ago in their RV to volunteer. Stephanie's brother, Tony arrived just a few days ago. They are fellow Christ-followers serving the Lord as He leads. We have really enjoyed fellowship with them all and have spent lots of time together over the past week.  It's funny that we've only known them a short time yet they seem like family; well, they are family in Christ, :)   It's been so much fun visiting and getting to know each of them. Their youngest daughter is 2 like our James. And they have a 4 year old boy whose birthday was only 2 days before Trinity's 4th bday.  They also have an 7 year old son and two older daughters, ages 11 and 13. All the kids enjoy playing together and get along well, even with gaps in ages from the youngest to oldest.  The older kids play well with the younger kids and help look after them. Our kids also love uncle Tony, because even though he's 21, he still interacts and plays with them making them feel important. I think he sorta reminds them of their older brothers. The older girls are so much like my daughters. They are really good with the little kids and don't mind playing with them, which makes the little kids so happy.  Crystal and Ashlynn enjoy time spent with them too. Chris and I really enjoy spending time and talking with the kids as well as the adults in their family. This picture was taken this past Saturday at Kayak Point Park where both our families and our daughter's boyfriend, Elijah all enjoyed each other's company while we visited, prepared food and grilled some steaks, and the kids all played in the sand and swam. It was a good time together. We'll miss this family, along with the other amazing people we've met at this camp when we leave here, but are thankful for the time we've had to spend with them.

The journey God has taken our family on through the years has taken us to a variety of places, countries, and states where we have been blessed to meet many wonderful people, some who've been in our lives for a short time and some for a long time, but each a gift from God. It hasn't always been easy saying goodbye and leaving them behind as we've moved to God's next place for us on our journey. But we are so grateful for the blessing of friends of all ages in a variety of places.

God puts people in all our lives for seasons, some for long stretches of time and others for short stretches of time. I encourage you to never be afraid to get close to someone because they may not be in your life for long, otherwise you may truly miss a blessing!

James 1:17- Every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (ESV)