Sunday, 14 June 2009

• A tribute to my EMILY!

  Well, once again a month has passed and I want to thank you all for your prayers and words of encouragement. I am about a month into the Wheaton in Germany program and so far it has been a really good experience. A lot of questions have arisen for me as I have returned to the country in which I have lived the majority of my life...some of the questions having to do with 'where is home? Where is the future going to lead?' etc. There's so much to tell, and yet, I want to put that off for another time.
  
  Right now, I would like to write a little tribute to one of my dearest friends in the world: Emily.
  
  Emily, my roommate of two years, is leaving for Bolivia tomorrow for six months. She is a part of the Human Needs and Global Resources program, also known as HNGR. Emily is going to be living and working among the Bolivian people; her focus will be on working with and loving on the girls that she meets. Little do those girls know what a treasure they have coming their way. And let me tell you why...
  
  Emily has one of the greatest abilities to just love people. She lives and breathes relationships. I have never met someone who is as dedicated to relationships as Emily is. When you talk about a friend who lays aside their own problems and things that they need to get done in order to help or just be  with someone else who needs them... that's Emily to the core. The definiton in any dictionary for that kind of a person says Emily.
  
  Em has the ability to focus in on people and she has the patience and desire to listen to absolutely everything that you have to say. No detail is too small. She asks good questions that make you feel like she's one hundred per cent interested in what you have to say.
  
  Em also has a very comical side to her. She makes people laugh and even the most focused people crack a smile. Some people when meeting this extroverted passionate girls ask, 'is she for real?' :0) Yes, Em  is, indeed, one of a kind - but only in the best of ways! It has been an absolute joy living with her for the past two years. (well, two and a half since she had her toothbrush in our bathroom freshman year already!... for all of the times that she would sleep over!) I am not saying that we have never had our disagreements because in some ways we function very differently, but over these past few years, Em has just taught me so much. I have appreciated her humility, her care, her kindness, her passion to love and to reach out to those in need... I have enjoyed our late night conversations, which just always seemed to happen despite our being extremely tired and having to get up early the next morning.
  
  Emily is an inspiration to me. She challenges me daily in my walk with Christ. I have never met anyone my age who is as dedicated as she in setting aside for spending time in direct communion with God. This then benefits all of those around her as Christ's love just shines through her.
  
  I have also never met anyone who can get as excited for you as Emily can. When Andrew and I got engaged, Emily called as soon as she got the text message of what had happened! Andrew and I had called several of our family members to tell them the good news, but all of the ones we called had already been asleep and so their response was more or less, 'hmm. That's great! Good night!' ;0) We can't blame them.
  But when Em found out and called she made up for pretty much everyone else who had struggled with voicing a lot of enthusiasm, considering the hour that it was. Lots of screaming and shouting and, oh it was just so great! She is such a cheerleader!
  
  Over the past years as Em has gone through the very lengthy process of first getting into HNGR and then getting ready to go, I have stood in constant amazement. I just could not fathom wanting to go to a Third World Country/The Global South all bymyself without knowing anyone or knowing the language very well and to work there for six months. It is obvious that God has given Emily this passion and the strength for everything that she has accomplished so far. I know that God is going to do amazing things through her and in her while she is there. I admire her for her willingness to go and her trust in the Lord for His provision for her.
  
  Despite all of the wonderful things that God is going to do through her there and the gift that she is going to be to all of those that she meets, I am going to miss her in these next six months - terribly! I am going to miss our midnight conversations, I am going to miss coming home to the apartment and see her sitting there in her orange Wheaton sweatpants and brown Wheaton hoodie. I am going to miss all of her butterscotch creations - brownies and cookies. I am going to miss her smiling face looking up whenever I came in the door, giving me her full attention, no matter what she was doing at the moment. I am going to miss seeing her sitting at the kitchen table reading her Bible and journaling. I am going to miss her hugs and always open ear. I am going to miss our walks. Things are going to be very different in these six months not having her there when we all return to Wheaton. Things just won't be the same without her.
  
  I have asked Emily how many bridesmaids she is planning on having at her wedding... and I'll watch her start counting... and counting... and then she just smiles and looks at me and says, 'I don't know!'  My theory is that everyone attending her wedding will be in the bridal party... Em just has this amazing ability of being an incredible friend to so many different people! We'll have to go out onto the street and invite people to come and sit in the pews since all of the guests will be standing up front with her and her groom! :0)
  
  Well, I think I had better come to a close... even though I feel like I have just scraped the surface of who Emily is and the amazing and beautiful woman that God has amde her into whom God is continuing to shape her.
  
  Em, I love you very much and I am praying for you as you finish your time with friends and family back at homeb before you get on the plane tomorrow.
  
  This blessing is for you:
  
  May the light of God shine over you,
  May the Holy Spirit fill you.
  May the blood of Jesus cover you.
  May you sleep in peace.
  May you always know just how much the Lord Jesus loves you!
  
  I love you and I wish I could be there with you right now to take you to the airport ...
  
  
  

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