Mom and Al's Visit

My Mom and Al left 7 days ago and I think I am finally starting to feel better.  I was in a funk for a few days.  I just felt blue. I don’t know when I will see them next so it was hard to say goodbye.  Both of them really bonded with Eli and I felt sad for all three that they wouldn’t be able to see each other every day.  We loved having them here.  It was like having home here in Moshi.  We played 9 holes a lot and enjoyed lots of laughs (sometimes to the point where my stomach hurt and I was crying…. It was great).   While they were here, the weather was perfect.  It rained at night the first few days they were here, but was sunny and warm during the day, not too hot.  In Kenya, we had really nice weather too.  Once we got back, it barely rained and stayed warm and sunny.  No joke, since they left it has been cloudy and rainy non-stop.  From the moment we got back from the airport until now, it has rained more than I have ever seen here and the sun has rarely been seen.

They brought so much joy to us.  I am very happy they got to meet and know George and Eli.  Seeing a part of home leaving was difficult.  It never gets easy being apart from family and friends.  I know this is where God has us now, but I do miss everyone so much.  George does too.  I remember talking with a missionary in Sudan who told me every day she cried being apart from her children and grandchildren, however she kept going it because God called her to be in Africa.  This revelation hit me hard.  I thought missionaries got over homesickness.  Up to that point in my time in Sudan, I kept waiting for it to go away, or if it didn’t, it meant God must want me to go home.  Her experience taught me that the homesickness may never go away, but God gives us the strength to carry on in the midst of it.  For me, that has been the case.  I’ll always miss my old home, but He comforts me when the waves of homesickness get stronger, as they did recently.

Mom and Al – We miss you!  We so appreciate the effort and sacrifice it took for you to come and thank the Lord for such a wonderful visit.