Reunion

Last evening, we had the high honor of having some very dear friends in our home. We met Mike and Irina when we moved to Israel in January of 2003. Mike was one of the guys who met us at the airport that first night and took us, in all our exhausted nervous excitement, to a hotel. Mike and Irina's assistance during that time of transition was INVALUABLE! Irina spent days toting her little son David around with us and our little son Josiah to look for an apartment for us; we ended up finding one right down the street from them and were continually grateful for that location and the closeness we had to them. She rode buses with me and taught me how to get around the city. She did my laundry for me in those early days before we had a washer (and even at other times, too). She translated endlessly for me because of her superior ability in English, Russian, and Hebrew. She was my fellow musician and encouraged/taught me to play guitar for worship. She was real with her triumphs and struggles and made it very easy for me to be open with her about anything I was going through. She served endlessly, loved wholeheartedly, and uplifted always. And she did all of this with a great attitude!!! In all honesty, I have no idea what I would have done without her as we adjusted to life in Israel (and I know Jeff can say the same about Mike).

After we had been together for a year and a half in Tel Aviv, they returned to the States to live in the Seattle, Washington, area; and we had not seen them since. A lot has changed since then! Right before they left Israel, Irina found out that she was pregnant with their second child. Right after they left Israel, I found out that I was pregnant with my second child! Her daughter Ellen was born a few weeks before our son David. And her son David is exactly 6 months older than Josiah and was, without a doubt, Josiah's first friend in life.

It was SO GOOD to see them yesterday! Their visit was almost painfully short though, as we felt like there was so much that was left unsaid, so many areas of life that we barely spoke of--or didn't talk about at all. We look forward to them coming back and spending more time with us someday when we can really catch up!!!

Both Jeff and I remarked that it was so strange--yet so natural--to see them here in our home! We knew them half a world away from here, yet how joyous to reconnect again in this wonderful place we call home and show them a tiny bit of our world now. What an encouraging blessing for our souls to see them again!!!