Celebrating a dear dear friend!

 Our gift-giving and gift-loving friend is heading back to Holland. we are sending a women that has overcome so much, been set free of so many things, and has really pressed into mission and motherhood.
  If you have had the privilege of giving Yessica a gift, you know what i am talking about. She has the most amazing reactions, she tears up, she exclaims, she acts you like bought her the Taj Mahal or something like this. It is very very rewarding. and i would not be lying if a few of us are trying to learn how to receive gifts in this way...

  So we made little trips down memory lane and with each stop was a small gift. favorite drink .favorite nuts. favorite snacks...and our gift-reciever-extradoniarre delivered. she reveled in it and loved each gift.

Max. so many hours spend there in Jordan.our staple go-to for wardrobe needs. that was before H & M , of course

and then there was Glowbal. Overstock from America, this place can be a gold mine. can be. yessica lived 2 blocks away and was always searching there for her and us. I always went there with her!!

Then we drove south down to Saida and hit up there H & M sales. I did not take a picture because i thought the other girls might just protest. =) We found some great steals at our favorite store!



Then we went to the beach for a little ceremony. Astounded and disgusted by the amount of trash on the beach, yet resilient women who live in Beirut - we pushed on through for a perfect picnic on the beach. 

the weather was sunshine and gentle breeze while the waves crashed in more mighty ways than normal.

we had music lulling us into nostalgia, memories, and dutch cultural things we had learned. 

 we laughed and cried and remembered the last 4  years in all their glory. 

Hours of learning arabic together, hours of praying together, hours of visiting Arabs together..

first pregnancy, first birth, cradling each other's newborns, and adjusting to life without our families close by. 

 
one of the parts of the ceremony...for our sisterhood...

loving our sister. 

and for our last stop- Chilis. We introduced Yessica to Chilis, to chips and salsa and free refills ( never had a free refill in her life before this!) we had to end taking her to the place that felt like the ultimate treat to our adjusting selves in Jordan...but here in Lebanon we have been won over to the local cuisine!

 and lastly, prophetic gifts for our friend.

 we will miss our chatty, girly, spontaneous, natural language learner, joyful, spreader of Dutchness, Mcdonalds co- sharer, shopper extraordinary, mama of two darlings...

you are gold yessica!