What I wish I could tell her...

One of our pastors accompanied the group my daughter is with down to the location for their outreach trip.  She has posted a few photos to Facebook, and each one I have sat and looked at for far longer than is probably necessary. Sure, I look at all the faces....but it's my girl I am checking out.  Does she look healthy? Is she eating? Does it look like she's had trouble with her digestive issues?  Is she sunburned...

Come on.... 

She's 19.  

She's old enough to take care of herself - and has done for the better part of a year.

But as her mama, I still look.  

In the last photo, she has what appears to be a big bug bite on one arm.  I have heard the bugs can be LARGE down there.  

But mostly - she appears completely happy.  I noticed in one photo that she had a mango on her plate.  She loves mango.  Our pastor noted that they spend time each day going around the compound, gathering the mangoes that drop off the trees before they rot on the ground.  

And I think...treasure that memory, Kid.  Remember the taste of those mangoes.  In years to come, when life  flys by and you're married with kids and a mortgage, you'll remember back, to this time, when life was so simple.  When you walked around under the equatorial sun after a nice long run in the morning.  When you ate fresh mangoes under a thatched roof.  When your biggest concern was remembering your sunscreen, and your days were spent having fun, and sharing Jesus with a bunch of kids who live life perfectly happily with not even a 10th of what you own.

Lock each of these memories away, because you'll savor them later.  A week, a month, a year...10 years after you get back...

If you don't write it all down, you may forget the names, or the exact faces, or even everything you did...

But I bet you will always remember the mangoes, and how sweet this first trip is.