Our Precious Dovers

It has almost been two years since we said 'goodbye'.  And a little over a month ago, we were able to say hello once again.  The day they rolled out of Ohrid with a very sick little boy, not one of us thought, this is goodbye forever. I know they didn't. And me? Well, I thought, they would be back in a few weeks or at most, a couple of months.  And then the phone call came.  It's cancer.  Our sweet Josiah was diagnosed with luekemia. We were broken.

If you have ever lived overseas for any amount of time, you know that the people you work with and minister with become your family. They become as close (sometimes even closer) than blood relatives. You do birthdays, holidays, church, prayer meetings, good days, and bad days together, all in one another's living rooms. Your kids become best friends. They see you at your best, in your element. And they see you at your very worst. They walk with you in the darkness. You fit together to form a brighter light than you could be alone.  You work with one another's strengths and show grace in one another's weaknesses.  They get you, and they get what you are about. You are knit together in the bond of the Holy Spirit, and people, there is no greater bond than that!  You are family. Everlasting family.

That is the relationship we had with the Dovers. It was deep. And when the word 'cancer' came, we were a world apart. We weren't there to hug their necks, hold their hands, sit with them, cry with them, pray with them.  We cried and prayed alone.  And it was almost 2 years before we would hug their necks and sit with them again.

Last month, by God's great provision, we were able to meet up with them and spend a few days catching up and loving on one another. It was wonderful, and for me it was very therapeutic. I was reminded how very much I love those Dovers! They are amazing people who love Jesus with all that they are.  They have been a picture of faith and perseverance in all that they have endured these last few years, and it is a pleasure to call them friends.  

Who says you can't turn a hot tub into a swimming pool?!  

Sweet Jennifer and me! LOVE her!

Thomas and Noah were just little guys when we said goodbye, but they reunited and became fast friends. They both share a love for rocks. What else do you need?

For those of you who have prayed for Josiah, thank you. He is doing good.  He has less than a year of treatment left. Praise the Lord. Continue to pray for them as they not only walk with Josiah through his battle, but as they walk with other families who have children with terminal illnesses in their new ministry role at Habit for Hope.  Pray that one day they will get a chance to come to Macedonia to say their goodbyes to all that they suddenly and unexpectedly had to leave behind.  And just because I know that God can do exceedingly more than I could ever think to ask or imagine, let's go ahead and pray big: pray that God would send them back to serve alongside us in a few years. :) It can't hurt to ask. :)