Querida Anita, The circumstances of our lives never allowed us to spend much time together. You grew up in Mexico; I was raised in Pennsylvania. Even the last time I saw you, when my young daughters and I visited you in Cocoa Beach, we arrived a day later than planned due to a delay at the airport in New Jersey. When we saw each other at the Ocean Landings Resort, we greeted each other with such joy. My daughters and I spent the day in the pool, while you were managing the resort. Later that afternoon we shared a meal, smiling and laughing the way we used to when you would visit Ephrata, PA when we were teenagers. You were like a big sister to me then, and we would write notes to each other in Spanish during church. Of course, in the late ’70s I could barely write a full sentence in Spanish, but you were the best conversation partner that a girl could have! Because of you, I had no doubt that I wanted to go to Mexico in the summer of 1979 to help build a church in Diaz Ordaz. Your mother Mae, who had the most beautiful heart, visited us in Diaz Ordaz, and then later we visited her at El Retiro. Anita, that trip to Mexico was the catalyst that launched my career, and you, my dear friend, have always been with me on the journey, because I carry you in my heart. Once again, the circumstances separate us, and this time, there is no airplane that can take me to where you are. But like your Mama Mae and my Dad used to say, there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God! And ever since that trip to Mexico, I have found great hope in these words from Romans 8:38-39: And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. We will smile and laugh together again amiga mía and God will wipe all the tears from our eyes.