Friends - 15 years later

Well, the first 5 days in LA were pretty amazing. Not only did we attend 3 different churches on the weekend, but we got together with 19 friends (7 couples & 5 individuals). Not at one time, but 12 separate times, either over breakfast, lunch or supper, for at least 2 - 3 or more hours each. We drove 1030 km in those 5 days (pretty much from one end of LA to the other). We've just about finished an online pic album which I will link to in the next post. If you click on the map image - you should get a full size image where you can see all the names/locations of everyone we got together with & the 3 churches.

It was quite amazing, after 15 years, to get together with all these friends and to jump into conversations as if we had never been apart. I was great to here each person or couples journey, and what they're up to now. I realize more than ever before that these are very unique relationships, forged 30 years ago in ministry together. These are a gift I can never take for granted. We didn't get to everyone we know there, but feel incredibly blessed by being able to see everyone we did, to which I owe Connie big time as she was the one who orchestrated this entire plan - emailing everyone, getting contact info, arranging times and locations to meet - fitting them all in a 5 day period. I am one VERY lucky man!

Coming away from those conversations about life, the future, the times we had, I was inspired, challenged, grateful, encouraged, moved - it was like going to a restaurant that was serving a buffet of all my favorite dishes - I just wished everyone else could have come along and heard each ones story as we did. God is good. I will remember this for a long time. Hopefully it won't be 15 years before we do this again!

On the next post, I'll update re the churches we went to.