Heading on Home Assignment

In your recent update we asked for your prayers regarding our up and coming home assignment time in the US.  With just over one week to go we are so thankful for your prayers and support during this busy time.  Here is a short list of some of the things that we ask you to be praying about:

 

• Work in the hangar: Paul has handed off his tasks and just has a few more things to do before we leave.  Pray for the team there as not only are we leaving but another mechanic will be departing in December as well.
• Our travels home: Several months ago we purchased our tickets to the US (we were excited to find a pretty good price for the 6 flights that take us from the highlands of Papua New Guinea to Tulsa, Oklahoma).  Unfortunately they have changed several times and our nice comfortable layovers (is there really anything comfortable about 6 flights with a 3 and 5 year old?) have become basically impossible connections.  We are already expecting to miss at least one of our connections.  Thankfully it is all with the same airline.  Please pray that we are provided decent accommodations and flexible attitudes as we roll with the changes.
• Financial needs: We are so thankful for how the Lord has provided.  Special one-time gifts as well as our normal faithful monthly supporters have helped us as we prepare for this expensive transition.  From getting new cell phones to setting up “house” for our year of home assignment, we anticipate extra expenses.  Also, we are currently waiting for our health insurance to process some claims we have submitted.  (Currently we are waiting on reimbursement of over $9,000 for Paul’s prescription shots.  Pray they are timely in their processing as we then need to pay the NTM-PNG field back this amount).
• We are going to be cold! We will be leaving tropical Papua New Guinea and landing in the frozen fields of Kansas.  🙂  But seriously, it is going to be an adjustment for us all.  (And yes, we will be some of those crazy shoppers days before Christmas.  Hopefully the children’s clothing section won’t be too crowded. Thanks to brother Dan for coats from a coat drive he helped with).
• Reverse culture shock! Many don’t realize what an adjustment it can be for missionaries returning to their home culture.  We have experienced this before but this will be the first time we get to help our young kids walk through it.  The cereal isle alone might be enough to cause Phoebe to pass out!
• Living out of suitcases: We will be living a bit of a nomad existence for the next several months. While we are looking forward to seeing friends and family, we are praying for extra strength as we live in transition.
• Doctor’s appointments: We would like to get Paul into the doctors as soon as possible to make the most of this year stateside. There will be the preliminary tests and checks (the tropics come with many surprises) that have to be completed before any real diagnosis and treatments can be made. Please pray we find openings early and good results so Paul can begin towards healing and full strength.

We so appreciate your part in praying for us during this time!  We can’t wait to see you soon.

And if you take one thing away from this update, let it be this:

22 hours of flying

6 flights

2 preschoolers

Thanks for praying!