To Fajitas, Friends, and Farewells

 

Last Friday night I had to stop by Muriel's to drop something off, and she asked me if I wanted to stay for dinner.

 

How could I say no to fajitas?  Fajitas are my one weakness.

 

And homemade pies?  (Muriel, you're a cook extraordinaire!)

 

She'd also invited a family from church.  They have four girls, whom I've grown to love dearly.

 

 

Hadassah and Hannah

 

 

Benitah, Mareshah, and Anna-Lee (who isn't one of the four sisters)

 

 

Hi, Hadassah!

 

- - -

 

 

Saturday morning Hadassah and two others from church got baptized.  This isn't our church - we don't have a place to do baptisms, so we used another church's facilities.

 

The service was supposed to start at 9:00 (a dreadful hour for a Saturday morning!), but it didn't start until after 10:00.

 

I don't think anyone was particularly surprised. :)

 

 

Welcoming everyone with an opening prayer

 

 

Testimonies

 

 

 

We sang while Hadassah and her dad made their way up to the baptismal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the baptism, some of us went back to the house.  We ate fudge and took pictures.

 

Lots of pictures.

 

 

It was almost like the paparazzi. :)

 

 

 

 

Oh, Hannah, your sweet face is so deceptive...you know you're as crazy as I am. ;)

 

 

 

The house was crazy.

 

We were crazy.

 

Hannah blamed it on the fudge.

 

...But really, when you're getting ready to leave the country and you have an entire house to pack up and lots of goodbyes to say, how can you not be a little crazy?

 

 

I went out on their balcony and spied on the neighbors took pictures of the neighbors' yard. 

 

 

 

 

 

That's not the neighbors' yard.  That's the boutique across the street.

 

 

Here's Mareshah getting her hair done.  It took hours.  (Five? six?  Something like that.)

 

- - -

 

 

It was their last week here, so there were lots of pictures at church on Sunday.

 

Pictures and food and hugs.

 

And tears.

 

Goodbyes, they aren't easy.

 

 

But...we are blessed to have something that makes saying goodbye so difficult.

 

 

 

 

Some of the young people got up and sang a few songs for them at the end.

 

As you can see, the room was absolutely packed.  Some people had to stand in the back.  I was in a row with seven of the girls (so eight of us in all) - and there were only six chairs.

 

 

Open curtains behind people don't usually work out too well for pictures...

 

 

"So you don't forget us."

 

Not that they'd likely forget the place - or the people - they've lived and served and loved for almost twenty years.

 

 

After the service, we waited outside for lunch.

 

 

This is the first event I've been to where everyone was served individual plates.  Normally people gather 'round in groups of five or six and eat from one big platter.

 

After we ate the meal, they served cups of juice and slices of cake.

 

Then we took more pictures...

 

 

 

 

Isn't his face adorable?!

 

 

 

Germain (my host family's little boy) took this picture. :)

 

 

LOL!

 

- - -

 

 

 

Miss you guys.