The LDs

This is my official shout out to Phil and Christine Lindell-Detweiler.

As many of you know, Phil and Christine have been with us since day one – and I don't necessarily mean that literally (although they were since Christine was one of the ones who picked us up from the PMB airport that fateful day 10 months ago). Here with Mennonite Mission Network, the LDs have been part of our RJ program by taking us under their wings, guiding, mentoring us, and generally just being our friends.

I've come to really love and cherish this dear family since being here. I can honestly say that without their guidance, I am not sure if I would have been able to stick this thing out. We had the privilege of hanging out with them this past weekend up by St. Lucia – chilling at the beach, roaming the game park with the ballade, picnicking among the zebras and impala, and hanging out in front of the World Cup matches on TV back at the backpackers place. Before we headed out that Monday morning after all the weekend adventures, we had a debriefing session with them to "wrap this whole thing up." Towards the end of our conversation, Phil mentioned of how whenever you are around someone long enough you cannot help but feel the loss when they are gone. That is definitely true for me. Phil and Christine have made a huge impact on my life – their willingness to serve, to confront conflict, to deal with tough faith issues in a cross-cultural setting, and their authentic love of people are some things that I will carry away with me. I am definitely going miss them – eating breakfast at their house, laughing at the huge quantities of fruit that Phil always buys, drinking lots of cups of coffee with Christine in cute coffee spots, co-teaching English, and trying to convince Phil to whistle and dance at the same time. Okay those are just some things (some of which are quite silly – except for the whistling and dancing thing – that is quite serious), but it is often the small, little details of people's lives that stay with us the most.

So if you are reading this LDs, please know how much of a blessing you have been to me and to the rest of the team. Y'all are awesome. I am definitely going to miss you.