i was in durham this past weekend and got to spend time with some good friends from Cambridge (the ministry i was in in college). like always, i had a wonderful time. like always, i barely slept because christie and i stayed up hours into the night talking and laughing. i encountered generosity, goofiness, sincere encouragement, devotion to Jesus, and real brotherly love...just like old times. new inside jokes were formed, memories revisited. christian payed for dinner thursday night. brennen handed me a $100 dollar bill the same night (which i thought was a $20 until i actually looked at it much later). both touched my heart to the point of tears with their encouraging words about zhop's closure. pastor john and martha atkins payed for breakfast saturday morning, expressing such joy about my move to Sudan it made me more excited. i went to lunch with andrea and was deeply inspired by her strength. rollan gave me the best, most loving hug at church. christie and kenesha drove me everywhere! i cooked rice and burned it (typical) and stunk up christie's place. she looked up remedies to burnt pots online, and we spent the next day boiling salt and baking soda...stinking up the place yet again. i got to laugh heartily, talk about problems and struggles, revel in God's work in us. these are true friendships - where you go from discussing end times to sharing your heart in God to laughing about being gassy from eating too much beans, all in one conversation.
every reunion between 2+ Cambridge folk is just like old times...even though years have passed and so much life and growth has happened, nothing's changed between us. when we're together, we're the same silly kids who were crazy for God in college and did ridiculous things. our stories, testimonies, experiences are written in eternity. maybe we'll sit around the big screen up there and watch the DVD with God. maybe we'll even live in the same neighborhood in heaven.
to all my Cambridge-ites...you know who you are, you are more than friends to me. you are my family, and i look forward to spending eternity with you.
LOVE...enough said.
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