Saturday, November 28, 2009

Mi Despedida

I cannot believe that we are only a week away from heading back to the USA!  As we begin these last few days here in Colonia we are reminded how blessed we are to have had the opportunity to minister here.  A few weeks ago one of the ladies asked if she could organize a despedida for me. 

I had no idea what to expect but I was really excited that she would think of me and desire to do something special for me.  And the night was one of the most special times I've had in my life.  I left feeling so blessed and loved!  There have been times where the enemy has wanted me to believe I haven't had any impact here and that no one would miss me.  To listen to the testimonies last night one would have to conclude that the enemy could never have been more wrong! 


Valeria organized and hostessed my farewell party.  She is one of the ladies that I discipled as a pastor's wife.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what the Lord will do in her life as she ministers alongside her husband.

This is Silvia, our adopted Uruguayan Mom.  She has been so sweet to our family!  And such an encouragement!  The Lord has used her countless times to lift our hearts.  She's also known as the Candy lady and is always ready with a bag of candy for Simeon.  Poor thing spent most of the night crying.  Everytime I looked at her I started up again.


Abuela Paulina has been so wonderful for our family.  Our children really needed someone to think of as a great grandma and the Lord gave them Abuela Paulina.  She can't always make it to church but she is faithful to pray.  There is so much I've learned about faithfulness through this dear lady. 



Amparo arrived here to Colonia with her husband and children just a few months after we did.  In spite of the language and obvious lack of ability to communicate well we became fast friends.  God has knit our hearts together in a way I never could have imagined.  I'm so thankful for a dear friend in the ministry who can understand all that I go through, who encourages me, and who loves me in spite of my flaws.



The ladies all gave sacrificially to buy me something as a going away present.  Here I am with all three of them: a daily planner, a special memory book filled with notes from the ladies here, and a watch.

 
At the end of the night these two partners in crime devised a scheme that went something like this:  "Debbie, come here.  Can we have a favor?  Just one little bitty favor?  Can we pick you up for a picture"  They didn't leave me enough time to answer and before I knew it.... 
I was up in the air but I'll spare myself the embarrassment by not posting the picture of my look of surprise when they, literally, began hefting me in the air.





The teen young ladies who came to be a blessing to me.  During the testimony time Yeny, to my right, thanked me for my example and for SIGMA.



The group shot of all the ladies who came.  Minus a couple ladies who had to leave before we could take the picture.
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The silly foto...I love these ladies and their fantastic sense of humor.





2 comments:

Susan said...

Wow sounds like a wonderful night.

Debbie said...

It was a wonderful night that the Lord knew I needed!