And we're (heading) back!

Tomorrow, we fly on a plane from Grand Rapids to Managua. We've had a PACKED summer and now we are mostly PACKED for our trip (five large suitcases, five carry-ons, and five backpacks!)--Ruth has been extra gracious as probably half of our luggage contains items for the SOAAR program!

The current state of our stuff.

We have so much to be thankful for as we conclude our time spent in the US--13 provided beds over these last 7 weeks on which to lay our heads, family and friends that go above and beyond for us while we are here, four churches that want to know how we're doing and what we're up to and support our ministry, a new brother-in-law (Amele, my sister, was married in June), a van that we were able to use during the entire month of July (please personally thank Bob and Annette Yff if you know them.. . .they need to know how thankful we are for their van!), and 3 not-always-perfect kids but kids that have been absolute troopers as we dragged  them around the country, into so many homes and churches, expecting them to recognize long-lost faces or at least act like they do!

We're all looking forward to heading home to Nicaragua. Furlough or home visit or summer vacation--whatever you might call it--is an awesome gift, but it is far from relaxing and rejuvenating (though there are moments along the way for these things). As we wrap up another summer in the US, here are some observations about this time.

1. It's home, but it isn't really home. We're so happy to be "back" and we yet we can't wait to go "back." Our hearts and heads are a little confused. And I think that is okay.

2. We get to answer the same questions all summer long. Do you still have your monkey? Tell me about the SOAAR program? What is the weather like down there?  This is a repetitive task but NOT annoying and we are SO thankful that people care enough to ask us questions about our lives. Thank you for your questions. We also want to know how you are doing. Your lives matter just as much to us! So hopefully we were able to learn a bit about how you are doing and what you're up to these days. That was always our challenge to our kids this summer. . .at each visit, they had to ask 1-2 good questions of the person we visited. "What is your favorite color?" was probably their best question--we have some room for growth in this area!

3. Summer time is spent in two primary ways: seeing people and buying/organizing/packing/moving stuff. We are SO sick of the stuff aspect at this point. But clothes shopping for 5 people for the entire year is a necessary evil, and I was just an absolute sucker when it came to buying stuff to put in my new classroom. Couldn't stop! We MUCH prefer the gatherings and meals and hang-out times with people to the stuff aspect of being in the US, but even visiting is exhausting after a while! But that's okay. . .it is worth it to us to see you!

A fun visit with Gam Gam (Ruth's mom's mom) in Cincinnati. 

4. Health stuff is crammed into the summer. While we could get medical/dental stuff done in Nicaragua, Ruth has a bit more faith in the system here. We had physicals. Kids pooped in cups. Charlotte got a needle shoved in her leg. I had two chunks of skin taken out of the back of my neck after the discovery of a suspicious mole (please pray for this. . .I get a lab report Wednesday). We bought a lot of meds to get us through the year. Henry broke a tooth in half and got the remainder pulled out. . .like a it-took-20-minutes-of-yanking-and-drilling-to-get-this-tooth-out-and-I-had-to-watch-the-whole-thing type of pulled out. We're a little anxious to see how health insurance works; we've had the same company now for two years and this is the first time we're using it! Hopefully we'll have a very healthy year.

The current state of my neck. Sorry if it grosses you out. . .I'm just thankful that I never have to see it!

Please pray for us as we transition back to ministry in Nicaragua tomorrow! We are so appreciative of you and enjoyed seeing so many of you this summer. Until June 2016!

(Did you miss a church presentation this summer? Feel free to click this link to see the pictures used in our presentation this summer.)