I want to see faces!

I came to Uruguay because I sensed a real love for the people here. And I think God gave me that love...

When I arrived at the end of February 2013, I only knew a handful of people... but in the past 16 months I've met a lot of really neat people and made some really great friends.

Let me share them with you now:
Matt and Toni Daniels and their children Allie, Matt and Anne

I work with Matt and Toni and I like to play "aunt" to their children. Just last week I spent two days with Allie, Matt and Anne while their parents went away to celebrate their anniversary. :)

There are three young couples who I have grown to love very much. Two of them have had babies in the past year and one of them should be giving birth in August!  Yes, three little girls in total all within a year and a half!

Craig, Alejandra and Emma

Ignacio, Stephania and Maria Pia

Eva, Diego and the soon-to-be born Sophia

And then there's a hodge-podge of other people who have become like family to me:

Anna Ruth has adopted me as her daughter - which makes her my Uruguayan mother. I lived with her my first three months here and I appreciate being able to spend time with her - she always listens to my stories and responds with lots of love and wisdom.

Alison and Diego are like my older sister and brother. They live in the same neighborhood as I do and so we sometimes meet for lunch or run errands together. I enjoy spending time with them because they make me feel loved!

Angela is my neighbor and I get to see her every day. She looks out for me and has given me lots of information to help me adjust to this new place. I am grateful for her friendship!

I met Silvia during my second week in Uruguay and we become close friends almost immediately!! Her son Michael is 10 years old and he's a lot of fun to hang out with.

There are a lot more people I could tell you about but I'll stop there for now. :)

I came to Uruguay because God gave me a love for the people - I am so glad He did!

But what I hadn't anticipated was that God would also give other people a love for me.

These people are now very dear to my heart... and I hope they experience God's love for them through me.