Leaving is Hard...

For those of you who occasionally visit this blog to see what's going on in my life in Honduras...I apologize for the fact that I haven't written anything lately. During the past year, I have spent more time than normal in the U.S. due to having 2 new grandchilden and my 83-year-old daddy having hip replacement surgery. During this time, I just wasn't into blogging. Wonderful things have continued to happen at Baxter Institute and the JMA Clinic and I know many have read our newsletters, visited the website (www.baxterinstitute.edu) and even made trips to Honduras to see first-hand the work being done.

I assume that the majority of you reading this know that Steve and I decided last year to return home sometime this year and that a search committee of the board of directors has been looking for Steve's replacement as president of Association Amicus. We made a 5-year commitment in 2004 when we began our work and wanted to honor that commitment. However, we were also willing to stay a little longer (until December 2009) if that was necessary.

Last week our board of directors announced, through a press release, that a wonderful man, Howard Norton, will be the next president and will begin those duties, along with his wife, Jane, on June 1, 2009.

So, Steve and I will be leaving Tegucigalpa to return to Bowling Green, KY on June 1. But we're not just leaving a city. We are leaving our dear friends. We are leaving our precious students. We are leaving family.

And we're not just returning to a city. We are returning to our dear friends. We are returning to our children and grandchildren. We are returning to family.

We wish we could have both...our friends and family in Honduras and in the U.S....all in one place. But that will only happen in Heaven.

Leaving is going to be one of the hardest things we've ever done. But we believe that we are leaving the work in good hands and trust that God is going to continue to grow the great works of Baxter Institute and JMA Clinic as He sees fit in the future.

I am hoping to write another post or two on this blog before closing it out. I will be spending some time with my daddy in Florida next week and then will return to Honduras on May 9 and join Steve in our last month at Baxter.

God bless you!