She left at four this afternoon and already Shiloh seems empty. Dorothy has only been with us for five months but she has worked her way into our hearts and our lives.  She is such a valuable worker.  She does so many little things to make our lives easier.  For example, she is always up by 5:30 a.m. so she lets Joseph out the gate at 6 a.m.  That means we get to sleep in.  And she is here after four when everyone goes home, so she opens the gate every time until the guard comes back at 6 p.m.  She makes early breakfasts for our guest.  And then she gets breakfast started for our team.  She takes the cloths off the line after hours if they haven't dried by quitting time.  And the list goes on and on and on.  But her niece is getting married this weekend and she wanted to be there for the event.  First they will go into the village to pay the bride price, or in this case, receive the bride price.  The following day they will go before the mayor for the civil ceremony.  And then there is the church blessing.  Dorothy will get to see lots of relatives.  And her mother.  She wants to see her again and sit down for a long talk.  She asked for an advance on her salary but we gave the money as a gift.  Not necessary to pay it back.  Just before she left I gave her additional money so she could buy food on the trip up to Bamenda.  She was overwhelmed.  Told me I was a good mother.  We gathered in the living room for a time of prayer for Dorothy.  You see, it's not just safety on the road for this long and sometimes dangerous trip.  There is still a war going on up in the North West Region.  They were burning houses and crops in her village once again last week.  But her brother has advised her to keep phoning the family to see how things are.  If at any time during her trip they tell her that fighting has broke out again, she will get off the bus and come back to Yaounde.  We wish her the best.  She has earned this time off.  And she needs to connect with family and friends and her mother.  But we are eager for her return.  She is so very valuable.