Cheers to Fort Wayne

FAMILY AND FRIENDS. 

The day I've dreaded forever has come. Hahahaha.

I leave Fort Wayne tomorrow to head to Columbus, Indiana. It is midway between Louisville and Indy- so back down to the south I go !! 

I am whitewashing the area and replacing a set of elders! I will also be training a new missionary and get to serve as the Sister training leader for the Indy zone! 

Let's just say it's going to be an adventure hahaha. 

No matter how many times this happens on the mission, it really never gets easier.

I could never ever tell you enough how much these people mean to me, and how it breaks my heart imagining not being able to see them everyday.

I have been absolutely so blessed to have gotten 7 1/2 months in this city. Every single day here has been a blessing. And I will most certainly never forget it- any of it.

I have fallen in love with every part of life here. It is really frustrating because I literally cannot explain or convey even the slightest of how I feel or how much it all means to me.

But let me tell you I have never felt more at home than in the company of my family here in Indiana.

I will never forget every single Sunday shaking hands with 70 yr old Wyl Colgrove in his wheelchair as he utters some funny joke or compliment like, "I looked over and saw you and swear I've seen an angel." Every Sunday. Without fail.

I'll never forget the people I've met that have let me fully into their lives- into the messy, the pain, the beauty, the real- all of it. They let me in and they let me make myself at home there.

I'll never forget Sandra coming down the hallway back at church for the first time in 20 years and just fell into our arms and tearfully say you've saved my life.

I'll never forget the freezing cold nights or the humid and hot days looking for people we can love and lift.

I'll never forget learning and growing and changing alongside our friends Jimmy and Steve and see them become more than they ever knew they could.

I'll never forget all the times we were in the right place at the right time with the right person. The times when there is no other possible explanation of how we were there at the exact hour of need other than that this work is guided by a God who cares.

I'll never forget what it has been like to learn about God and Jesus Christ all over again. What it's been like to experience the love of God like it was for the first time. What it's been like to gain a testimony of the gospel through the evidences that are ALL AROUND, I just had to learn how to see them.

I will NEVER forget last night as I was saying good bye, having the man I look up to and adore with all my heart, grab my face as we were both sobbing, and utter to me, "Granddaughter."

I could go on and on. I don't have the time. But all I know is I gave my whole heart and soul to these people, and they gave theirs to me. What I have come to know about God, I have come to know from these people.

I know that there is more to come in Columbus, and I am ready to give all I have to those good people.

ALL I can say after this special last week here in Fort Wayne, is 

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL LIFE. 

I will never be the same. 

ALL MY LOVE, ox sister rich