"It's so hard to say goodbye." This pop song I grew up listening to in the 80's echoed my sentiments this past week as we sent off our Austin team. It can only be easy to say goodbye if you don't know the person or you don't have a shared history. But I've had a shared history. I've known Pastor Manny and Sunny for 14 years. Actually I've known Sunny longer as she's my cousin. But we've bonded more closely than as just physical family members. We've grown closer as coworkers and partners in serving God and His church. From my freshman year, they've helped me mature and grow up and actually begin to care about others. They helped me to turn my selfish heart into a heart of service by the example of their own lives.
I could write pages and pages of all the ways they have affected me. Not just them but the other team members as well. I know I miss them and will miss them but what I've thought about most recently is that I want to fill the gap that each of them is going to leave behind. From Sunny's warm smile to Pastor Manny's personal and loving care for a person whether through trash talking or a contagious spirit to Bryan's faithfulness or Henry's beastly exuberance and the others, I want to live out a double portion of their lives here. I think that's the best way I can honor their sacrifice of going to Austin. I pray I can live out my faith here that much more passionately!
