jumble

i feel a bit jumbled right now. it's late saturday night and i've had quite a weekend already. yesterday i saw my friend janelle. she lives in london and was out with her family to visit relatives. i've known her since i was 16 and we have the kind of friendship that picks up as if we'd never been apart whenever we see eachother. she's very dear to me and i was so happy she was able to make time to see me even though she flew out this morning.

for dinner we went to a restaurant by the oregon convention center where there happened to be a square dance convention taking place. there were couples everywhere having dinner at the restaurant and the couple above let me take their picture (aren't they too cute?). janelle and i ate and caught up for a couple hours before we headed over to fred meyer until the store closed at 11 to spend the last of her american cash on all the little things she might want to take back with her. when we headed back to her aunt's where she was staying the night we sat in the car talking until nearly two. we would've stayed longer but i had to take a 2 to 6am shift at a 12-hour dhop all-nighter.

it's always hard to say goodbye to janelle, but for some reason it was especially hard this time. when i got to the church and renee asked me how it was seeing janelle i cried like a baby. later i spent some time praying for janelle, her family and the season God has her in right now. i don't like that i can't be more closely involved in her day-to-day life. it's hard for me to know she's going through stuff but we can't just pick up the phone or go get coffee and talk about it. i pray for her alot as it is, but i wish i could do more.

sleep was awesome at 8am when i finally got to it, and church was good tonight, but more than anything today i found myself thinking about the friends God has given me that are in the uk. the work He has me doing here is sometimes so hard, but there's such a joy in it that it makes it worthwhile. i find myself so burdened to ask for an increase of this joy in them, knowing this is they only way they will be able to stand under the weight of the darkness in the work that He has them doing. i long for all of them to each be reminded of the greatness of the love of God for them, His nearness and the joy He has as He thinks of them and spends time with them. my prayer is that God will keep them safe and will refresh them as they continue to press back against the darkness and walk out His will. i pray that God will come and do in them what He has called them to do so that they will not be overwhelmed by the work that still needs to be done. Lord keep them in Your hand and next to Your heart.