Autumn was gorgeous in North Carolina. It was all I could do to stay in class during the day. In Strengthening Your Interpersonal Skills class, we learned all about relationship issues, from drawing people out and listening well to mediating conflicts between others. It was great input and will certainly be useful on the mission field where relationships with partners and nationals are so important.

One of the topics we covered was grief. Of course the content will be useful to help others through the grief process when necessary, but we were told to pay close attention to dealing well with our own grief associated with leaving our home country and traveling to a new place. Though it is a good move for all of us and filled with many joys, it also involves letting some dreams go and giving up some things that we have become accustomed to in our home country. Part of adjusting well to the new country is grieving those losses well. A friend of mine who was in the first class with us just wrote in her blog about the Ugandan orphanage that she is volunteering in until the regular school starts and she can begin teaching the older children. Her heart is absolutely broken with the horrible conditions that the babies are in. Grieving well in situations like this is so important in order to avoid excessive stress and burnout.

I’ve neglected the blog for nearly a month now, and needless to say, a lot has happened since the last time I posted. So, I’ll start where I left off.

A few months ago, I heard that my friend Dana from Taiwan, was not only in the USA, but that she was staying in North Carolina! Needless to say, the opportunity to see each other could not be passed up. Early in November, I made the 3 hour drive from Union Mills to Raleigh and enjoyed the fall colors the whole way. We had some great catching up time and took a long walk together. It was great to see her!

The next day was our last day at Gold Hills Missionary Baptist Church. A few of my fellow students and I really enjoyed our time at Gold Hills. We were welcomed every Sunday as if we were family. The last Sunday Pastor Oglesby took us out for lunch. We ate like kings and queens and had a great time with the pastor and his family.

Valuable

Today a friend asked me to come over and help her understand how she can better help a friend of hers that is struggling with being single. Wow!

We talked a little a few days ago, and she showed so much concern, empathy, love, and genuine interest in what I had to say about my experiences as a single woman. She recognized that my marital status doesn’t define who I am, but it does affect every area of my life. And she accepted me as a valuable friend and a healthy and complete individual.

She took the time today to invite me into her life and to glean important truth, so that she can be a better friend. Her love for me and for her friend that is struggling is priceless.

What did I learn from her? I am valued. I am not valued even though I am single. I am valued because I am me. I am even valued because of my singleness. Most of all, I am valued because God made me valuable.