Ruthie’s Blog

      In the course of three days, Cindy and I saw both of our security guards and a foreign teacher friend quit.  Every day for three days in a row, someone left.  It feels very unstable.  The longer I stay here the more I realize that I will be saying a lot of hellos and goodbyes.  Ethiopians leave for other countries to try to find something better.  Foreigners come here for limited amounts of time.  And all of this means that I cannot self-protect myself from the pain of getting to know someone and then saying goodbye, not knowing if I will see them again.  It’s difficult at times.  Sometimes I wish everyone I knew and loved would just stay in one place so I could just savor them for who they are and never have to say goodbye.  But, that reality does not exist this side of heaven and I have to pray for the grace to accept that and love others no matter how long we live in the same place.