Family Vacation

Last weekend I got to go on a family vacation! This was especially exciting for me because my biological family didn't take very many vacations together when I was growing up.
When I went to Texas last year, to start my Mercy Ships journey, I spent those first few months with the same people everyday, getting a crash course in areas that would get us ready for long-term life on the Africa Mercy. We got to know each other quite a bit more than you would if you had just rolled up to the ship and dove in to the community. As this year has passed, a whole lot of things have changed and that means that we are saying goodbye to A LOT of the people. That is okay, because they are going on to other, fantastic things, but that doesn't take away the sadness that comes with your family breaking up. Yes, we are a family. I was thinking and we really are a family for many reasons:

1. You don't talk to everyone in your family all the time, but you know that if you need them they are there for you
2. You know that they are a familiar face in a new situation, and that is terribly comforting when you feel like everything is changing/falling apart around you
3. We are often dysfunctional
4. We have jokes that other people don't understand
5. We get together to celebrate birthdays 
6. We have shared traumatizing (and not so traumatizing) experiences
7. We support each other
8. Each person contributes something different
9. We annoy, upset, and frustrate one another (on occasion)
10. It is hard to say goodbye

All that to say, we had a nice weekend, with lots of love, some tears, and a few group hugs...

Photo credits go to the always wonderful, Walter Pretorius.