Leaving Muskogee part 1

I'm not always one for marking events, but there are some big things that have happened lately, and I've had moments where I needed to just sit down at a computer and type out all that was happening in my environment, heart, mind. Let's see. In the past month we packed up our house, had a huge going-away party, moved out of our house, visited dear friends in St. Louis, said good-bye and see ya later to all our friends in Muskogee, moved to Bedford TX, and are quickly getting settled in here. It's gone so smoothly and I praise God for that.
So our going away party was a perfect night. Hard. Sad. Good to remember and reflect, but hard. It was really well put together and there were several of our friends who spoke, AND Harrison and Kelly showed up as a surprise to us and Harrison was one of the speakers. John Lindsay, Charla Jackson, Cathy Bowles, Greg Vanderveer, Brent Hall, and Jan Whittiker were the other speakers. They told funny stories. They encouraged. They reflected. They spoke their gratitude and love.
The elders presented us with stoles and each blessed us. Then everyone came and gathered around us and prayed over us.
David Hall was the MC and blessed us at the end of the night with one of our favorite blessings:

May the Lord bless you wherever He may lead you.

May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm.

May He bring you home rejoicing, at the wonders He has shown you.

May He bring you home rejoicing, once again into our doors.

It was a very special night and I'm so thankful for our family at MCC. Our time in Muskogee is done for now, but I'm so grateful for our partnership in the Gospel and forever grateful for the people that I grew to know and love, all because of the goodness of Jesus. I miss our friends already. It's hard to be away, even just 4 hours, knowing I can't just pop over to say hello, or call someone up for coffee, or run into someone at the store. Our town, our church, our family there was home to me, and it's always hard to leave home. BUT, this is the next step on our journey towards Burkina. So it feels right. It's time. God has been preparing us and so we move forward with confidence and great affirmations of His faithfulness.