Goodbye and Hello

Today was a day of transition. Last night we all went to the airport as we sent Martha and Earl home to Georgia. It will be good for them to be able to reconnect with family and friends. It was difficult for the people here to say goodbye. The Wrights have lived and worked here for the last ten years and so they have built close relationships with the people. The workers at the mission and many of the pastors came to see them off at the airport. We lots of prayers and tears but we know that God will be with them.
This means today was a new day and that things would undoubtedly be different because of the Wrights departure. I am grateful for the past and look forward to the future. I was told by another missionary once that the missionary life is full of goodbyes and hellos. I am learning this very quickly.
We went to a neat church today. They have had tremendous growth and they are working on building a bigger building to accomodate the people. The pastor was a young man and he appeared to be a gifted leader. There were lots of little kids in the service and it was fun to watch them be kids and worship with their families.
After church I rested a long time because sleep alluded me the night before... Too much thinking about baby and stuff:) Later we were able to welcome Immanuel and Ronnie. They work at the mission and have moved in at the mission. They are a great blessing and Ronnie is another answer to prayer for me. Since Martha left for home I thought I might miss some female companionship. There are women who live here but not many who speak english. Ronnie knows a lot of english and will also be able to give me baby advice when I need questions answered. She is excited about the baby and wants to help any way she can. She will also teach us Tamil once we all get settled. So she definitely has her hands full with us:)