Yesterday we had breakfast with some great friends who we
have had the privilege of watching court and then get married. They have been
instrumental in the lives of many of our youth in significant ways. I can’t
fathom that Brit has time to still be concerned about one of our youth that
isn’t enrolled in school yet. It has been very difficult to fathom that these
special friends are moving to St. Louis and won’t be around much. I can
remember how both got involved with our tutoring program and eventually became
a couple. I will also always remember, our breakfast at Matt’s, where they made
it official, yes, we are getting married.
Yesterday we welcomed a new intern, an ASU student, who is
older and more mature. She is a Latina who grew up in a small Arizona town and
escaped her surroundings by joining the Army and did get to see the world. She
was able to be part of our Teen Leadership Group yesterday. It was so awesome
to listen to her share her story about growing up in your typical first
generation Hispanic home and how tough it was for her parents to accept her
decision to join the military and move out.
I grew up with change being a constant factor in my life. I
lived not in a couple of homes during my youth but closer to 20. I would also
venture to say that as an adult I’ve lived in more than 20 houses over the
years. So stability can’t be a locale or home but God, family and close
friends. So the transition of having quite a few good friends that have been
involved with New City – Barrio Nuevo has been tough over the last couple of
years. We said good-bye to another young couple where the guy had been very
involved. They are living in the ‘grad’ world at Harvard. Another awesome
friend went back to school after serving in the Marine Corp and also went back
to grad school to get his MBA in ‘small business’. I’m humbled that he would
make his involvement with Barrio Nuevo a significant part of his LinkedIn
profile!
As I sit waiting in a different Starbucks then usual I will
‘hook-up’ with a new best friend who is a real partner in doing community
service work. She is a ‘local’ so she won’t be moving. Yesterday I attended a
men’s lunch group that I helped start more than 15 years ago. Many of these men
have become close friends over the years as they have helped paint many houses
in our community with a few doing tutoring. It is such a blessing to know that
God has placed some incredible people in my life.
I know that Saturday will be here almost instantly. We will
get up early to walk our dogs and then go see Al and Brit. The real movers will
be there with a truck load all of their worldly belongings. Brit’s mom and dad
will have arrived on Friday night. They will caravan to St. Louis together with
all of their vehicles, the truck and the pets, like 2 dogs and 2 cats. I don’t
like saying good-bye especially with people you really care about. Yet, I know
that there will be some tears and the heartache of not seeing someone for a few
months. I could say that God will replace these special friends but that would
be a total lie. They can’t be replaced but will wait again to reunite.
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