Ezra, One EZ Kid to Love!

This is my friend Ezra. He and his family went through our training program this Spring and left today for the summer. The picture if of us saying good-bye last night. He's a sweetie and I've really enjoyed encouraging him, spending time with him, playing games with him, etc. We've had several Mancala marathons and even played chess a few times! I didn't know how to play chess until I was in high school, so I was impressed that he had the general idea. We got confused about a few pieces because it was an African chess set and the pieces looked totally different than in the standard black and white version I'm used to. Ezra loves games and, even more than that, he loves attention. Not in a "look at me!" show-off kind of way, in a "I'm the middle of three kids and the other two are louder and express their needs more forcefully" kind of way. He has a great personality and makes me laugh!

One last week I got back from a bike ride and was passing by Ezra's house on the way back to my house. Out of the blue, he walked up to me and asked, "Do you want to go on a jog? We could go right down this street, that street, and back here (around the block). I could go change real quick." I said, "Sure!" and was totally amused that he had come up with going on a jog as a fun form of hanging out with me, especially since there was no previous talk of running or jogging going on. Then it cracked me up that he was going to go change clothes. He wasn't particularly dressed up or anything that required changing, but he came back out in baggy green athletic shorts and a t-shirt, ready to go on a run. We asked his mom for permission, and we were off! And he didn't try to run ahead of me or anything either; he stayed right by my side and made conversation. We were actually fairly similarly paced, which I thought was fun, too. I love how he was getting winded, huffing and puffing a little, and quickly found a cool piece of trash on the ground to stop and look at for a minute. I love how obvious kids are, even in their subtlety.

Here he is being camera shy and then laughing.

This is a season of transition, as my roommate Helen moves out and gets married in June, my roommate Laura leaves to lead an internship to Bulgaria this summer, my friend Susan and her family leave Florida to support raise in the Mid-West and then deploy to Mexico, my friend Angela leads an internship to Myanmar and Thailand (also the editor, person who looks over/proofs my work), Ezra and his family leave for the summer, my friend Misty moves back into our house after a few month absence (she was house sitting for some people who were out of town), a new session of the COAT training program starts and someone named Megan moves into our house, my friend Melissa moves back from Rwanda, Shane (Helen's future husband) begins working in Media after an apprenticeship in Kenya, Ryan begins working in Media after support-raising in Oklahoma, and more. A lot of change is coming, and that is a little overwhelming and also an opportunity for growth.

Pray that:

I will let myself be sad, grieve the things I'm loosing and know that it's okay to miss them. Being sad doesn't mean I'm going to be hopeless, it means I realize that those were great things!

That my eyes will be opened to how God is working in my life and the lives of those around me, I would continue to be filled with praise and awe at His goodness, timing, provision, how well He knows me, etc.

My identity would be securely rooted in Him and in His love for me, I'd speak up/speak truth to people/believe my thoughts and opinions and perspectives are valuable, I'd be unshaken by less frequent contact with friends, transitions, etc.

I would become even more self-aware, having a teachable spirit, being humble, to learn what unhealthy patterns I have in communicating, what is unhealthy about how I view others, God, love, etc. That I would recognize my needs and take steps to meet them without guilt or shame (time alone, time with people, counseling, exercise, sleep, etc. Continue to discover and develop the giftings God's given me through trust/see them as gifts

Some friends that went through COAT with me would be able to move back soon (Derek and Ashley); I miss them; they're support raising right now