Community

What is community?  For many years I’ve thought of community as the place where I live.  I realize now that community has multiple dimensions.  I had a work community.  I worship in a church community.  I interact with my neighbors, a community.  The foundation of my future German community rests on those we met last November.

Our home group, a precious community of six, has shared hearts, learning, meals, and prayers over the past three and a half years.  They have walked with us since our return from Kenya in 2007, watching us struggle with the call to Black Forest Academy.  I find comfort in this community of friends who have shared in my times of joy and of despair in the transition of my life.

Last week our home group community met for the last time with a fondue party.   Five adults and two teens brought energy and fun to the evening.  My husband found a mini hibachi to grill the tiny sausages and ham.  Of course, everything that was dippable was also grillable.  The house filled with the aroma of burned bananas, marshmallows, sausage, and bread.  We finished off the cheese fondue, and then attacked the chocolate.  Yum.  None of us left hungry!

The heart of the evening lay in the sense of community enveloping our home.  Laughter, stories, remembrances of past filled the evening with the reassurance of being friends, part of a small community.  These people taught me the importance of caring, serving, and praying for one another.  I will miss our bi-weekly times together, but I carry to Germany the sense of community that developed with these friends.  Goodbyes tear at my heart, yet I can say with Paul, "I thank my God in all my remembrance of you."  These relationships will continue over the miles as God creates a new community for us in Kandern.