Full hearts & stomachs

Tonight has filled both my heart & stomach. My Iraqi friends  family invited a couple of my roommates & I over tonight for iftar {the evening meal eaten at sunset by Ramadan-observing Muslims}. We hung out together for four hours. We talked, we ate, we talked some more, we laughed, we drank tea, swooned over my friends incredible artwork & watched a movie.

So many more memories were made tonight that I'll cherish for the rest of my life.

I'm so, SO thankful for this close-knit relationship & the way it has deepened & blossomed throughout the past year. For each visit, each conversation, each cooking show & episode of Top Gear & CSI. This family has taught me how to truly love. They've taught me to open my heart & celebrate life for all that it's worth. They've showered me with so much kindness & hospitality, & it overwhelms me.

These people aren't just my friends anymore. They've become my family. 

Continue praying for them with me, that more followers of Jesus will enter their lives, that the seeds that have been planted will be harvested as they understand Christ's love.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. {Eph. 3:12}