Dearest Friends,

I remember the Turkish rain becoming a solid sheet against our bus, making the window scene blurry. It was a day where I was figuring things out. Things were shifting. It was also the day I became friends with Hannah. I wrote her this song on that bus ride:

Hannah stirs below my head

so I lift my off her shoulder.
Wakin' up to a brand new world

don't know if we've crossed the border.

But the familiar beats of this road and these streets

make it seem like it's getting closer.

Closer to feeling like home.

Hannah cries and I cry.

Hannah smiles and I smile,

as she calls out my name. 

Are things, slowly, starting to change?

She is now one of the very closest people in my life. "Literally." :) Things are again changing. She has decided to go on a mission. So, time is now kind of short. I thought I would be really upset. I thought I would be sick of saying goodbye to the people I love. But this feels right. I couldn't be more proud to know the person that is Hannah Joy Rackham. 

I guess in a way I kind of knew hers was coming. Rachel's, on the other hand, came to me as a surprise. She and I are so similar...it's like part of me is leaving. It's strange how close two random strangers can become. Two very blessed random strangers. But my new favorite thing is watching her get excited every time she talks about her decision. I love her pure, natural, raw smile. Her happiness for the good in life. 

Dearest, dearest friends. How blessed I am. -CMS