Days of Reconnection! (With more to come…)

I have had a very adventurous life, having lived for extended periods in many different places around the world. In each place, I have been blessed with the friendship of many special and wonderful people. Sadly though, as I moved from place to place, I lost contact with all or most of the special people from the previous places that I had left. Letter writing and phone calling just weren’t (and still aren’t) my thing…

Recently, through various internet tools (Facebook being the main one, but also Linked-In and Google), I have been reconnecting with friends from most of the different phases of my life! This is awesome!

Examples:

• Rondo: A 4th and 5th grade classmate from the American Cooperative School in La Paz, Bolivia, who now lives in California
• Ricky and many other friends and classmates from Newberg High School (several who were my friends from 6th grade at Central Elementary School all the way through graduation)
• Ed: A Canadian classmate from the Torchbearer Bible Schools I attended in Germany and Austria
• Joel, Chris, Tina and Michele: friends from the Graphic Design program at Portland Community College
• Monika (from Austria): One of my six “sisters” from when I was on staff at the summer camp in Spain
• Many friends and co-workers from the last twenty-something years here in Oregon

Wow! I am really loving this! I am recovering some of the valued friendships and connections I thought were lost! I am looking forward to more contact with these friends, as well as finding additional “long-lost friends”!

Here are the many important places and treasured phases of my life:

1. Bolivia 1961-72 ( (birth through 5th grade) We moved many times, including to Oregon three times. I went to 5 different elementary schools!
2. Oregon 1972-79 (6th-12th grades)
3. West Germany and Austria 1979-80 (Bible college)
4. Oregon 1981-83 (Portland Community College)
5. Spain 1985 (working at Mar Cristalino, a camp on the Mediterranian sea)
6. Oregon 1986-2009 (marriage and family, and work at Printistry, Barclay Press, and Vineyard Graphics)