So Many Gifts

I love to receive gifts. Big, small, old new, handmade… it just doesn’t matter.  The message that comes with a gift is so much more than the value of the item. Gifts can communicate many things. They can represent the effort of a friend to celebrate your joy. They can communicate love and concern. They say happy birthday, I am so glad you were born.   Or they might congratulate you for reaching a challenging goal. Gifts welcome sweet new babies, new neighbors and new homes.  My very favorite gifts are the “just because” gifts.  Those given “because this reminded me of you”. Or “because I thought you would like this”. Or the little tokens that remind you of a shared experience.  

Yes I love to receive gifts, but I love to give them even more. I love to give them for all the reasons above. Mostly I love to give them because it’s so much fun to think a tiny little token might brighten someone’s day.

We have received a few gifts since we have been here.  Most were unexpected and some even random. I will cherish these gifts as a reminder of a choice experience.

The greatest gifts we have received here cannot be boxed up and shipped home or packed in our suitcases. The best gifts will be the memories of a beautiful place with a unique culture.  The most cherished gifts will be the delightful people we have met and the friends we have made. The most inspiring gifts will always be the ever present sense of God’s love for all of his children. We will always remember his tender mercies to us as we have strived to serve him during this mission.  Some gifts will help us to remember this mission. We will remember the mission itself as a precious gift that has changed us forever.