Don'tcha wish your neighbors were sweet like mine?

Hello again. I have been gone from the blogosphere due to hectic crazy life. But I'm back - because I am graduating in 17 (COUNT IT - 17) days and want to give a shout-out to the gentlemen who have lived next-door to me for the past nine months.

All photo credit on this post goes to Bernard - just like the picture at the top of this blog.

Meet my boys:

Andrew


Ben


and Bernard


These may look like ordinary people - and to some extent, I'm sure they are. But this year, these three have taken such incredible care of me and have continually blown me away with their integrity, intentional care, sweet and deep compassion, thoughtfulness, spunk, faith, and hearts. I cannot imagine how they ended up the way they are now, but I just want to attempt to appreciate them by highlighting a few of the reasons why I love them. (Mind you, anything I would write here would actually only BEGIN to honor their amazingness, but I'm going to do what I can.)

Andrew:
Andrew is the sweetest man alive. He was hugging someone in almost every picture I found of him...which is true to his character, because he honestly and truly gives love to every person he meets. I do not understand how he can truly be such a GOOD man...I feel as though Andrew is unaffected by all the rottenness of this world. For example, Bernard told me this week that Andrew did not realize that Bernard was Asian until almost a year into their friendship when Andrew heard Bernard speaking Vietnamese on the phone. I laughed so hard when I heard that story, because it fit Andrew - he's the kind of person that would not notice a single element of a person other than their inherent worth as a child of Christ. He's just THAT pure of heart. Incredible.

Ben:
The thing I love most about Ben is how adventurous he is. I met Ben when I followed a crew of security officers into Ben's apartment because he had been reported as a robber after he thought it would be a grand idea to scale the balcony of his second-story apartment. Ben was running, throwing, hitting, or tossing in every picture I found of him...He's always playing sports because he cannot sit still, but has to be out and about, LIVING life and getting the most out of every moment. His enthusiam for life is contagious and inspiring and has challenged me all year long. On top of it all, he is ruthlessly honest (unless he's joking and playing me like a gullible violin), humble, and is an incredibly loyal friend.

Bernard:
I did not find many pictures of Bernard - because he is almost always the man behind the camera. And this is how Bernard operates. Just as a photographer lives his/her life for the subjects in the frame, Bernard lives his life for others. I cannot count how many times he has rendered me speechless (truly a remarkable feat) with a matter-of-fact statement of how he spent his day...whether he's hanging out with and providing for the homeless population of Seattle (he gives gifts and works on resumes etc...not through an organization, just because he wants to), getting up early to warm a car up for a friend he is giving a ride to, or making me dinner -- he is the most Christ-like servant I may have ever met, and truly all the world's problems would be solved if there were more Bernards on this earth.

Seriously - I have never, EVER met men like these three, and I cannot even grasp how much they have blessed me this year.

To my boys - thank you for all you have done, and for being exactly who you were made to be. I love you, will miss you, won't ever forget you, and will be affected by your goodness for the rest of my life. Thank you for showing me what Jesus looks like in 2008.