Bumps Ahead

The conversation went something like this.  Steph is driving and I am learning how to use my new phone/handheld super computer.

Steph: “There was a bump.”

Me: “There was??”

Steph: “Yup.  There was a sign for it and then a bump.  Didn’t you feel it?”

Me: “Ummm….no.”

The entire situation seemed somewhat comical to us because many of the “bumps” in the U.S. just don’t seem like much compared to the car-eating potholes we’ve grown accustomed to in Kenya.

We have now been in America for almost a week.  As expected, there have been some bumps along the way and we are certain there are many more coming.  Having a few days in Windsor at Legoland was helpful.  Kenya was a British colony so our brief stay there provided a small buffer of both Kenyan and U.S. familiarity.  Even the similar language terminology was helpful.  (Do you know what chips, crisps, biscuits, and lorrys are?)  Of course being surrounded by all things Lego was fun for all of us!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since arriving in America there have been times where we have been overwhelmed…by new things, by far more options than we are used to, by change, etc.  When we arrived in Windsor, the boys couldn’t get over all of the “really nice cars”.  When told that the water from the tap was ok for drinking, Jacob’s response was “We can drink water from the facet???  Oooh, that’s cool!”  Steph and I have made several shopping trips to get necessary items but we have tried to slowly ease into it.  Our first time to Target, we avoided the grocery section and went with only Joshua.  We had a wonderful opportunity to feel uneducated when asked at checkout if we had Cartwheel.  Clearly, we had no idea what she was talking about and had to plead missionary ignorance.  The next day we ventured to get our phones.  In the course of setting up a plan, the story of our time in Kenya and losing Hannah surfaced.  Our time in that shop ended with hugs from the woman who assisted us…a complete stranger.

We have been incredibly blessed by our church family.  Welcome home signs, balloons, and familiar faces have greeted us and they have welcomed us into their homes for meals.  One couple is even allowing us to stay with them during our time in PA (which is no small sacrifice given the size of our family).  A welcome home party was thrown and we were generously given gift cards to various stores/restaurants to help us as we transition.  In our short time back, we have been able to reconnect with family and have also had the chance to meet some of our supporters.  After Hannah went to her forever home and our story became more widely known, several generous supporters (many who were complete strangers to us) came along side to help keep our mission going.  We are looking forward to meeting many more of you as the year progresses!

What’s next???  The next several weeks will certainly be full of many bumps as well.  On Monday, Steph and I will be traveling to Virginia so I can have my official interview with Liberty.  We are also hoping to finalize an apartment/house for our year in the states.

In early July we will be traveling to Colorado Springs for debriefing at Mission Training International.  We hope it will be a fruitful time to decompress and prepare for a busy year of work, school, and lots of speaking engagements.

On our way back from Colorado Springs, we will be going to WGM headquarters for our candidate review weekend.  We hope to join WGM as career missionaries which would allow us to return to Tenwek and resume the work we were doing there.  Once we know for sure whether or not we are accepted, we will begin to schedule our speaking engagements.

While we are glad to be back “home” in the U.S., we already miss our Kenyan “home” and more than anything, we are longing for our forever home (and the time when our family will finally be complete again).  The irony of being a missionary is that in order to reconnect with friends/family, we must to say goodbye to our friends/family.  Painful goodbyes will forever be a part of our lives.

It is hard to believe that our first term in Kenya has ended already and that we are back in the states.  As I said before, there have already been several bumps in the road and we know there will be more.

Prayer requests:

-Please pray for us as some of these bumps will certainly be painful.

-Pray for the many times we will be pleading missionary ignorance.

-Pray for our upcoming interviews and travel.

-Pray that housing and a van can be finalized soon.

-Pray for lots of transitions and changes, that they will not be too overwhelming.

-Pray that our time meeting friends/supporters will be fruitful and mutually encouraging.

-Pray that our fundraising efforts will be successful.  Right now, it looks like an insurmountable mountain.  Pray that one step at a time, we will walk obediently.

-Pray that we can remain faithful with our mission to serve on both sides of the ocean and everywhere else we are taken.

-Pray for us as we come across Hannah’s things that were left in storage.  Pray also as we will be visiting her grave this weekend.  Wounds are continually healing and being reopened as we move on in life without her.  This too will be a never ending truth for our lives until we are reunited.