We Made It

by

June was a whirlwind!  We left Senegal on June 7th and landed in Missouri the next day.  We stopped there to pick up a car from a company that leases vehicles to missionaries on furlough.  We then began our drive.  We stopped along the way to see family, friends and supporters in different locations.  Then we met up with Andi’s whole family for a vacation in Anaheim.  After that we finish our journey by landing in Portland OR to unpack our bags and settle.

God was so good to us last month and here are some of the ways

  • We were able to break up our our long day of plane travel with a 6 hour at a hotel to get some much needed sleep.
  • We found the transition to the American way of life much easier this time.
  • The kids were amazed the automatic bathrooms in the airport.
  • The company who leased us the car has care packages in the car for us and our kids.
  • There were two mission barrels that helped fill holes in our wardrobe and kept us from freezing.
  • A dear friend and my mom sent us wonderful treats for our long car ride.
  • We were able to stay with some amazing friends and our kids made some great renewals of old friendships
  • We got to do kayaking, ice skating and visit a water park.
  • Ethan got sick, but on one of the days we weren’t traveling and it didn’t pass on to the rest of us.
  • My uncle put us up in a really nice hotel on one of our stops giving us a few nights of amazing sleep and rest.
  • We met up with my whole family in Anaheim for a vacation.
  • We were there just on the right day for Joel to see his cousins film at the LA film fest and also see some cousins he hasn’t seen in 20 years.
  • Another family who supports us happened to be there at the same time we were able to connect with them as well.
  • My parents got us Disneyland tickets for Christmas and the kids were just at the right age to really enjoy it all.
  • While waiting for the lights show one lady saw our big group and ushered us up really close to see the show.
  • We made to Portland after days of traveling with no car troubles or really any road problems at all.

I could just go on and on.  God was just there the whole time blessing us all around.

Here are pictures of some of our highlights from last month…

Our trip started in Missouri.
Where we stopped at our training center and reconnect with friends
The had a blast being silly together
We even connected with some friend from Senegal
Sharing about life and realities of the two worlds
The family we stayed with let us use their kayaks
The boys had so much fun
As did Joel and I
The we said “good bye” for another 3 years
The next days involved a lot of driving
And rest stop meals
Quick stops to get out energy
Then back on the road again
We stopped in 103 degree Arizona
And played game with friends there

Next stop was San Diego
Where other friend of ours live
Joel took the boys to an aquarium
And to see the sites
Then our friends too us ice skating
Our African boys didn’t do too bad
Next we connected with my whole family in Anaheim
My parents gifted us tickets to Disney Land
We rode all the rides
Saw the sites
But mostly enjoyed connecting with family
We even ran into some other friends while we were there
We were cleaned by cleaner fish
And were thrown in jail
Joel connected with cousins he hadn’t seen in over 20 years
Then we made a stop at Yosimite and hiked up the falls
We had an amazing trip
The best part were all the people we connected with
However it feels really nice to be in Portland now – finally settled
And to not be living out of a car and suitcases
Looking forward to connecting with as many people as well can over the next few months.

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