The first of many farewells

Our friends in FAT Group had a special going away ceremony for Josh and I (I say ceremony for lack of better words). There is no way that my meager words can convey how special it was.

We played a couple of trivia games: one where two teams competed to see who knew us the best. They answered questions like what is Autumn’s birthday, Isaiah’s middle name, Josh’s favorite Filipino food? Then Josh and I competed to see who has the best Tagalog vocab. A lot of laughs were shared.

 

Then the tears came. Carrying on a tradition that we did for each other on birthdays, they each shared some things they are thankful for in us as well as some “unforgettable moments.” Gosh, we felt so loved. One thing that stuck out to me as I listened was that God used things in us that we didn’t even realize we were doing, or being, to proclaim His own goodness. We couldn’t take credit for half of it if we tried! I was really humbled that God has used us in ways we didn’t realize and honored that He allowed us to see and hear how He had done so.

I’ll share some quotes from different FAT members that stuck out to me. I don’t want it to bring attention to Josh or myself, but I do think it will attest to the difficulty that we are about to face as we leave these precious friends. Praise God for His faithfulness in our time in the Philippines.

Bear with me in some of the following quotes; some are broken English, some were spoken in Tagalog and I translated, and some are verbatim.

“Thank you for teaching us”

       “You fit into our culture even though I know it’s hard for you.”

“I’m thankful for when Kuya Josh bought me free ice cream”

       “I’ll never forget all the new foods we tried with you.”

“Thanks for being Mommy and Daddy”

       “I’m thankful when Mommy cooks us…what’s it called?...snack?...and invites us to your 

       house to talk and give advices . I love that”

“I know God will use you wherever you go.”

       “I know Isaiah will have a good growing up because of you”

“Thanks for teaching me to love God”

       “I feel like we really know you. We are comfortable with you.”

"The me that God intended me to be has come out." 

 

       “We/Me is your fruit.”

"You are genuine friends and that is hard to find." 

       "You are good examples of missionaries for us. Now I know it's possible to have a baby in 
       another country if it's God's will for us."

"We love you." 

 

"Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it." 

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24