Those who come and go…

There have been many people in my life that have come for a while and then moved on. Many that have impacted me as a Christian, many that became very good friends and many that I give credit to for being where I am today.
To name only a few:

• Kristie Marckel who invited me to my first Bible Study where I would get my first grasp on who Jesus was and how He desired me to live.
• Dave Rawls who became my preacher and really showed me that you can give stuff away without reward or repayment.
• Frank Weller who encouraged me to attend Great Lakes Christian College even helping me with the application.
• John and Sybil Love for giving me a place like Lake James to grow, make mistakes and create many lifelong friendships.
• Mike and Bonnie for always checking up on me making sure I was okay.
• Kristen Van Dyk for inviting me to your crazy family functions and becoming a great friend in my life.
• Megan Washburn for putting up with the pranks and creating so many memories that still make me laugh.
• BJ and Beth. For being so much in my life I could write a novel…
• Kendi Howells Douglas for giving me such a great passion for missions that I could not sit back and let the opportunities pass me by
• And the list goes on…… 

I say this all first to reflect on the many who have influenced me but to also share a story of someone who is not only family but has become a great friend. Her name is Sciane or Madaam Amboise (Mrs. Amboise-which is her husband's first name). She is Wilby's cousin and went to our church. She has two adorable little girls Juna and Rut who Ruben adored and would follow doing everything they would do. While most in our church still stare at me with eyes wondering why I am there she befriended me the moment she started attending. She came to the D.R. after the earthquake hit in 2010 and like most in Haiti life for here was not easy. Knowing money for her family here was tight I asked if she would like to teach me creole. She smiled and said yes so twice a week I would find myself cherishing time with her and learning not only more about her but about one more language I had to learn. I was learning it from Spanish to Creole as well. It is to her credit that I am at a beginner's level and can understand much more. She and I had a lot of fun together.
Well at the beginning of this post I mentioned how people would come and then go. Well about a month ago now she decided to return to Haiti. Life was hard here and they were not making it financially. She decided it would be better with more family around to help with the girl's and right before she left found out she was pregnant. I have not been so sad to say goodbye to someone. I miss her smile and her sweet words of encouragement to continue learning the language. It saddens me every time Ruben thinks he hears them and goes running to the front door yelling their names. But the thing that saddens me the most is we recently received news that she has come down with Cholera. She is in the hospital and as much as she has been an encouragement to me I am not able to be that for her right now. I have not seen in the news anything of Haiti and the problems that still exist there like tent cities or the fact that Cholera is still snatching many lives in the country. I ask for your prayers, I ask that God places his hands upon her and removes this poison; I pray that she has many by her side whispering words of love so she does not give up and I ask that you pray for me as I am here and she is there.
"Devote yourself to prayer, being watchful and thankful" ~Colossians 4:2