I had my Church farewell party yesterday.

It’s been four years, but it really feels like it passed in the blink of an eye (it feels like it was just yesterday that my friends and I were talking about how we didn’t feel like fourth years and yet THAT WAS A YEAR AGO). So it feels strange to think that I won’t be seeing them every Sunday.

Since it was a farewell lunch, I decided to make panna cotta for them!

What I didn’t expect was that another member baked a chiffon cake and banana cake, and yet another member made zenzai. So we had a really awesome dessert selection yesterday.

Plus the usual afternoon feast:

During lunch, they surprised me by giving me a message (each person spoke for a while) and even sang a song for me. I really wanted to cry, but it’s a good thing that I didn’t because I was told that I’d have to speak after everyone ._.

Luckily, my stage fright wasn’t too terrible so I managed to thank them properly. They’ve been wonderful and generous for the past few years, not only to me but to my mom and brother too. My family doesn’t speak Japanese, and my Church doesn’t speak English, but they’ve managed to make my family feel welcome every time they visit (my mom still talks about the time we went with them when they went to feed the homeless, and the lunch that they treated us to).

I’m really going to miss them. I can only pray that God leads me to an equally welcoming Church. (If anyone knows any Churches in Sasebo, please let me know!)