Philip I miss you. You would not have gone on this trip with me but you would have been eager to hear my stories.
Fifty times a day I see something I want to share with you and every time my heart cramps as reality pokes me. I still can’t believe you’re gone.
I saw a simple shoe horn…cramp
The hot sauce at dinner…cramp
Buying coffee at the market…cramp
Talking about grandpas…cramp
Gazpacho, salsa soup…cramp
Our daily cooks…cramp
The easy conversations about covid are not easy for me. I have been mysteriously devoid of covid fear these past months but I am always wondering why others discuss the possibility of death without awareness.
Even here in Africa I am constantly reminded your strengths and talents.
You would have been friends with all of the translators, all of the locals, all of the cooks…like you were in Nicaragua.
Your wonder at discovering every new animal or rash or food or coffee.
You would have been out there fixing the generator unaware that you were a hotel guest and not a local.
You would have had a whole soccer game going in the dirt with a tennis ball.
I am left dreaming of my life without you. It is bittersweet. So many possibilities…I know that
God has something for me that could not be accomplished with you and this is hope filling. I know that full well but my heart aches with prospect of not sharing it with you…
TanzaniaAnne
November, 2021
Tripping with God: Stories of Faith and Inspiration 