This week I'll share about my dear friend and wonderful mentor Paula.
I met Paula when her husband and Steve went on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic back in Sept 2007. Steve and him shared a passion for playing Wii as they are both truly little kids at heart! Here's a picture of them in Santo Domingo. Lawrence (Paula’s husband) is on the left wearing the light pink shirt, and Steve on the very right with the blue plaid shirt.
(On a side note- Steve is very passionate about the work Kenneth Balootje is doing over there and you can read about his ministry here)
Paula and I were not very close until after Andrew passed away. Its funny how pivotal points in life can take some people out of the picture but bring others into it. Paula has a compassionate heart and she showed me so much care and love during this time. She would often call just to say that she had been praying for us and wanted us to know.
One of the things that I love about Paula is that she does not shy away from pain. When we would meet for coffee most of the conversations we had were very difficult, and I imagine this would scare away most people. But she never shied away and was always there with a listening ear and prayed for us to help us carry the burden of just losing Andrew.
I've learned a lot from Paula from the last few years. She also taught me how to cook healthier and organic meals (before I met her I had little desire to cook organic!)
When I was pregnant with Jack I went over to her house every other week to fill up on alkaline water. She had a very fancy water filtration system which we couldn't afford and we would fill up gallons of water (I'm talking like 10-15 gallons at a time). It truly was such good water and I hope we can get one of those one day. Will always be grateful for her kindness on this.
Paula and her family moved to South Carolina in the fall of 2009. I have really kept close touch with her as she travels often back to Tampa. I love, LOVE spending any time I can with her!
This picture was taken on a Friday night at the local rollerskating rink in South Tampa. We had a lot of fun dressing up in our 80’s theme that night and blending in the middle school crowd!
And here's a funny picture of Steve and Lawrence from that night... proof their love for each other is still strong after all these years! ha ha :)
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