Back home in America

Well, we left Hamburg, Germany on Monday, August 4th, flew to Munich and then to Charlotte, North Carolina. We spent the night there and then had a debriefing at SIM headquarters. We were able to tell about our mission trip, boast about the amazing work that God is doing in Angola through the Trott family, and get physicals to make sure we were healthy. We also met some amazing retired missionaries who work there at SIM USA. One lady, Ruth, particularly stood out in my mind as an amazing person. She is retired now, but once served with her husband in Benin, Africa. They served there for 7 years. They had 5 children, the youngest being 18 months old, when her husband went on a trip to Niger and lost his life in a train accident. Ruth returned to the US on furlough and then felt God's call to return to Africa. She returned with her 5 children to Nigeria, where she taught at a Missionary School for 12 more years. I asked her how she had the power and perseverance to do such a task, and she replied it was only by God's power. She also mentioned that now that her children are all grown up, they tell her that her decision to return to Africa was the best decision she could have made for them! I was awestruck and amazed at her devotion to the Lord and her commitment as a missionary.

After spending the day in North Carolina, we returned to LAX on August 6th. Baba (Nadia's dad) picked us up at the airport. We had jetlag for about a week, but had to get over it quickly since Craig started school on August 11th and Nadia had inservices starting the same day. The kids were excited to be home to play with their toys, sleep in their own bed, and see their family. I must admit it was good to sleep in my own bed too!

After all our travels this summer, we counted our blessings:

-For getting our Visas to even go on this adventure God called us to

-For staying healthy and not contracting Malaria

-For being able to serve the Trott family who are amazing missionaries!

-For the opportunity to meet and encourage Angolans, Zambian refugees, and other missionaries serving in Angola

-For our missionary housing that was safe, clean, and had electricity most of the evenings we were there

-For our safe road travels to Luena and back

-For safe, event free travel on all 11 airplanes!

-For a lovely week in Hamburg, Germany spent with Nadia's cousin and aunt & uncle

-And, most importantly, for the life changing opportunity to have a fresh perspective on how blessed we are to live in this country. Also to realize that life doesn't have to be so complicated- people can be content without all of the distractions of this world.

Thank you for sharing in our adventure. We pray that you would one day have the opportunity to serve the Lord in another country and experience the blessings that come with it. Thank you for praying for us- we felt all your prayers comfort and encourage us.

If I were to do it again, however, I might wait until my 4year old was a bit older. Ian did fine adjusting to the newness of everything but Nathan had a harder time. Here is me on one of our flights home, a bit exhausted, and ready to get home.

Here are the boys catching up on some much needed rest.

Happy to be home!