Well, in yesterday´s post, the first in several months, I wrote about reverse culture shock. Maybe that was the first thing I thought of regarding our furlough and I just had to clear my mind. Today I want to spend some time on the specifics of what we actually did during the 10 weeks or so that we were in the States.
We returned to our stateside “home base” in the Gilchrist community near Adamsville, TN on February 24th. The strategic location allows us to be near the majority of our family members and is also central to most of the churches we would visit. We hit the ground running, with presentations almost every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night for the duration of our furlough. We had the privilege of visiting 24 churches, 6 of them for the first time. It is always an honor to be able to return to supporting churches to give a report on our ministry. We also participated in a local missions fair and had the opportunity (especially Cathy and Olivia) to share about our ministry with several small groups. Our travels took us over 3,300 miles to churches in 4 states, the most distant being First Baptist Church in Wellston, OK. We were blessed to get to meet their short-term team that will be coming to Ecuador to work with us in July.
As always, it was so good to get to see old friends and to make new ones. We were blessed by the hospitality, encouragement, prayers, and support of so many people. We are so grateful to each church and individual who blessed us in so many different ways. Thanks for being channels of blessing, but we have to give God the glory and praise for always being faithful. We thank Him for His provision, His protection, and all that He has done.
As I think back on our furlough, I´d like to list just a few of the many events that stand out in my mind. It was a busy, but wonderful time of visiting and having fun.
After obtaining his driver´s permit last year, Eli passed the test and received his Tennessee driver´s license in March, shortly after his 16th birthday. Congrats to Eli! Although he was able to spend a lot of time hanging out with family and friends, Eli was obviously preoccupied with a special female friend, Hannah. Besides her meeting him upon arrival at the airport, they were able to spend some time together, including a Redbird´s ballgame in Memphis in April.
Olivia enjoyed hanging out with family and friends, practicing her photography, and learning to play the violin. The story of the violin is just a “God thing” and will be the subject of another post.
Although fall is my favorite time of year, spring runs a close second. It was amazing to witness the transformation of the bare trees of winter in late February to the blooms of spring in March and April, and then to the fully leafed trees in April and May, something we could never witness in Ecuador. God is an awesome Creator and His creation is marvelous!
In the past, we had made road trips to Arkansas to do presentations and visit friends. This year, we extended our road trip through Arkansas to Oklahoma in mid-April. It was a long trip, as we left on a Saturday and returned late the next Thursday, but we certainly enjoyed it. We were able to spend most of the weekend with a pastor friend in Malvern, AR and do a presentation in his church on Sunday. We spent Sunday night with some old friends near Glenwood, AR and relaxed with them kayaking and fishing on a river the next day. We stayed in a cabin in rural Arkansas for a couple of days without internet, television, or phone service, and lived to tell about it! There were times I thought the kids might not make it, but it sure was a nice change of pace during a busy furlough. On Wednesday we drove to Wellston, OK, where we did a presentation at FBC that night. We were excited to get to meet their short-term team that will be coming to work with us for a few days in July. We are looking forward to seeing them again in Ecuador!
As for me, it was good to get back on my bicycle again after riding my stationary exercise bike for the past year in Ecuador. I enjoyed several rides to Shiloh Park and around the backroads of our area. Although there were times I doubted if I´d be able to pull it off this time, my cycling climaxed with a 100 mile ride the Friday before we returned to Ecuador. I am grateful to my two “preacher buddies” who invited me again to turkey hunt with them in Wayne County on opening day. We didn´t kill anything, but it was a great time of fellowship and just enjoying being in the woods. I also enjoyed getting to do a little fishing and target shooting with my uncle.
In late April, we had the privilege of getting to have lunch and spend a few hours in Corinth, MS with our fellow Global Outreach missionaries, the Folks. Jacob, Courtnay, and their children were also on furlough, as they serve in Costa Rica, where they were our next-door neighbors for a few months while we were in language school at the same time there. This was the first time we had seen them since we left Costa Rica in December of 2008. God is really using them in Costa Rica, as Jacob amazingly has 12 Bible studies meeting on a weekly basis!
So many good memories! It´s back to work for us, but we won´t soon forget the good times of our 2011 furlough. Thanks, everyone!
