Our stay in Nauru has covered the U.S. fall/early winter season, by far my most favorite time of year. At the first, there was some discussion about missing scheduled activities at church, upcoming holidays, local events, birthdays of family plus our anniversary. As each event came and went, there was a bit of sadness at missing out on what was going on at home and missing being with others for our own celebrations. I hadn't mentioned, but one of my 'milestone' birthdays celebrated here was acknowledged by many of you and it truly MEANT A LOT knowing you hadn't forgotten me. That same birthday evening, some ladies from the church came to the house bringing gifts, explaining some Nauruan cultures, singing songs which gave me the surprise of my life .. or so I thought until this week. A few weeks earlier our upcoming wedding anniversary was mentioned in passing, but it wasn't made out to be a big deal at all. Now between that time and the anniversary date, I have become stricken with a somewhat debilitating back problem and have spent a lot of time laying on a hard surface waiting for some medicine to kick in. (BTW, work is a no-go for the remainder of our stay). Let's just say, our anniversary celebration had included a quiet day and a bowl of soup!

But anyway, back to my big surprise! Monday evening, I had just gotten up from the floor when someone knocked at the door. It was our neighbor girls bringing fruitcake and gifts in honor of our anniversary. They came in smiling, looking a little awkward as they presented their homemade gifts. Then, after we had sat and talked a while, they sang a song for us complete with candlelight and the Nauruan hand motions that I had seen at the Christmas program earlier this month. We were overjoyed at the expression of these young girls and the thought that came to my mind was "My heart is full." The Lord truly knows how to deliver a blessing, even when I didn't even know I was in need of one. In fact, that may be a good summation of what this trip has meant to me, "My heart is full."