Make New Friends, But Keep the Old

As the old Girls Scouts song goes, "Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other, gold." While I've enjoyed making new friends this past weekend at the Re-Entry program, now we are in the School of Missions program, where all the returning missionaries come for two weeks of training and renewal, and I get to see old friends. There are at least 500 missionaries swarming this campus (not including their children!); we represent only a portion of the 2,700 missionary adults of the American Assemblies of God serving around the world. In the crowds of missionaries at mealtimes and in our sessions, I'm seeing more and more familiar faces: people I went to college with, people from my district, people from Africa, Europe, and the Middle East where I've worked, etc.

Last night when I walked into the dining hall, which was decorated for a formal welcome banquet, I heard my name being called, "Ariel! Ariel!" When I turned around, there were Mark and Kathy Daniels, my surrogate family during my first year in Israel. I babysat their children, used their internet, and practically lived at their house. My mother even stenciled their living room when she visited me.

I hadn't seen the Daniels since 1997, when I drove down to Nags Head, NC to visit them before they headed out to India to continue their missions career. Although over the years, we've exchanged newsletters and Christmas cards, I've never had the chance to catch up with them. Unfortunately, we didn't have much of a chance last night, either, but we will definitely make time later this week (because they want to show me pictures of their grandchildren!).

That's just one of the families I've seen--there are so many more. I'm so blessed to have worked with so many great missionaries over the years.