hello, goodbye
in campus ministry, we are constantly saying hello to new students. freshmen, transfers, and exchange students are constantly arriving to the university, and new faces are just as constantly showing up around el pozo. the beginning of the semester brings us a new wave of people, but not a week goes by that we’re not giving out our famous brownies to people who come to el pozo for the first time.
but we’re also often saying goodbye. this semester has been exceptionally tough in that department because on top of saying goodbye to last year’s interns and exchange students, we had several students graduate, many students transfer away to other universities, and we’re going through lots of staff changes. earlier this month we said goodbye to clay and amanda, and next week we’ll be getting a new intern!
this week marks a week of “lasts” for el pozo’s very FIRST staff members, nathan and erin mcdade, who will be saying not goodbye but “hasta luego” to mexico a week from today. nathan and erin moved here in 2004 and with God’s help, built el pozo from the ground up. before names like “el pozo” and “la casa verde” were ever spoken, they were here learning spanish and the mexican culture, and meeting as many people as they could. 7 years later, el pozo is a community, la casa verde is a second home for students, and cholula has been changed because of the mcdade’s 7 years here.
tomorrow night we’ll celebrate them at en vivo…we’ll thank them and hug them and cry with them and remember the impact they’ve made on the world through serving here at el pozo. nate will be giving a talk about how we use our time, and i can’t think of any better way to invest 7 years of life than in building a ministry like this one.
one of my favorite quotes about time is from annie dillard, who said “how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” campus ministry might bring entire days of cleaning, or cooking, or counseling, or talk writing, or video editing, or event planning, or leading bible studies….but in the case of nathan and erin, each of those days has added up to a life of incredible blessing for the community they serve.
we’re so grateful for nathan and erin and for all that they’ve meant to us as team leaders, as coworkers, as friends, and as family. join me and el pozo in thanking God for them this week and asking God to bless their new ministry in maryland and to continue blessing el pozo, where we’ll be reaping the fruit of their labors for many years to come.
the mcdade family!
erin, elsita, and i playing in the sprinkler at el pozo
el pozo family portrait! we are f.a.m.i.l.y. and we will always be!
much love – kami