Back Home...

This is a long overdue blog entry...and probably the last until our next mission trip! Many thanks to all of you who have joined us on this journey. We received many emails, a few letters and packages, and were lifted up by many in prayer. The past 12 weeks have sped by. What have we learned? What will we take with us from this time that would not have been gained otherwise? Well - let's hope this part of the conversation never ends, even if the blogs do.

Our return to the U.S. has gone smoothly, although readjustment to life here continues slowly. Our travels from Tenwek went well - all flights were on time, all our baggage arrived without any damages, and most importantly, the videos on the flights worked so the kids had nonstop entertainment. Boy, are we spoiled!

We returned to Dulles Airport in DC where my parents met us - there's nothing like coming home to family! The weather was HOT! We drove to OH on June 2 and began the process of unpacking. But mostly we wanted to see family and friends so went out to eat a few times and even had a BBQ in our unkempt yard! Yardwork...now that's an area that needed catching up. We had some neighborly help with the mowing (Thanks Allan!) but also ended up recruiting the help of 4 teenage guys from church to tackle the weed eating and other big yard projects. The house needed a good sweeping and dusting, so before unpacking, I did the marathon cleaning. Unpacking...we're still in that process.

We were welcomed back by our Sunday School class and enjoyed catching up with friends. It's been over two weeks now and I think we've seen almost everyone, washed every article of clothing, restocked groceries and toiletries, gotten reacquainted with the dog and have gotten almost back into one of my loves - cooking/eating...so why do I still feel like something's missing?

Time...it's being filled up so quickly here in the U.S. Even though we were busy at Tenwek - Eric at the hospital, and the kids and I with homeschooling, food preparation and basic routine, we just had more of it and better quality. Already, my lists have exceeded the lines on the paper and the hours in the day. Home Insurance, bank statements, dying computer, dying cell phone, dying vehicle, water leak, etc. were all issues we were faced with during our first week home. Sure, these aren't life issues that can't be dealt with, but the time spent on these took us away from the precious time that we had become so used to spending with our children or with others at Tenwek. Sure, there have been trade offs - four lane highways, convenient ways to grab a meal, fresh produce galore, and special time with family and friends. No complaints here at all. It's just been difficult to shift gears, in a sense. So if we seem a little disoriented or not all together here...we're still trying to get our feet back on the ground here in Ohio. Three months sure has thrown us off...or maybe gotten us back on track!

So we are each processing our time in Kenya, in different ways. We miss the new friends we made and the ones we reconnected with. Many thanks to those who welcomed us and walked with us during our time at Tenwek. At the same time, we are so happy to be home and know that this is where God wants us to be during this season of life. We are glad that Eric could give some relief to the long-term missionaries at the hospital and that he could be involved in the medical training of interns and residents. We are so glad that our kids had the opportunity to live in another culture and experience life differently than they ever will here in Holmes Cty. And we are very thankful that as a family we were able to spend quality time together, surrounded by people and events that reflected God's love and His working in the lives of many.

So that's where we are at the moment with processing the last 12 weeks. How many more weeks/months will it take for some of our experiences to really soak in? Who knows? In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the fresh strawberries of the season...right after I finish my list of to do's for today!