The First of the Lasts

I've done a fair number of things for the first time ever this past week.

Such as:

French braid hair

Help castrate a rabbit

Meet some baby quail

Grill eggplant

(turned out really yummy but there were no blog-worthy photos)

This weekend instead of doing new things for the first time though, we did a couple things for the last time, and it made me realize we'll be experiencing a lot of those "lasts" over the next couple months as we transition out of our time in Bolivia.

On Saturday, we shared in our last Talita Cumi birthday party (tear). Quarterly celebrating the kids birthdays has always been a special treat for me, but with Angie it's even more fun as she really looks forward to hanging out with her old friends and is always such a good sport about being the only kid not to receive presents that day. Talita Cumi's been a pivotal part of Angie's life and now played a huge role in mine as well. No matter where we are in the world, we'll keep praying for the home and its kids, and God's great plans for each one of them.

Yesterday was our last anniversary party with La Viña. Our little church turns three this month, and to celebrate we spent the day together at the pool, cooking out, worshipping in the fresh air, and learning what the Bible has to say about honor. As everyone shared in the chores of preparing the food, cleaning up the pavilion, and semi-lifeguarding the pool, I assisted in my traditional ways; driving people around and setting up the technology, but then I sacrificed a bit by keeping Mateo, Francisca, and this hammock company.

We're not quite finished wreaking havoc on Talita Cumi or La Viña yet, but we're starting to see what an impact these families have been on us, and recognizing how bittersweet it's going to be to let them go in a couple months...