Adjustments

Many people have asked about how our trip went, so here is a quick snapshot. The trip as a whole was great, while we had our stressful times, overall a positive experience for Jeneson and I as a couple and for us as a family. Are we glad that we did it? Certainly!!! Would we do it again? Yes, but not for that length of time. It was a good length of time for the first trip because we felt that we really needed it to be that long so that we could transition from that 'guest here for a couple of weeks' mode to truly being a part of the whole family. The first 6 weeks were pretty rough and a couple of times one or both of us wanted to throw in the towel and come back home, airline penalties be dammed! We also learned that we both are stubborn and can persevere. I am praying that this experience will help us out in the future on the mission field.

We have been back at home for about 1 month now and are pretty much back to our normal level of craziness. The kids have adjusted better than we had anticipated and they are both back on a regular sleep schedule and sleeping through the night. Josiah now has a big boy bed (a twin bed) and Lydia is in the crib. They are still trying to work out all the kinks of the two of them sleeping in the same room, or should I say one trying to sleep while the other is protesting sleep. We are loving going for walks and to the park almost every day, although it would be nice if it wouldn't rain so much.

Jeneson was really blessed to be able to go back to his old job without any problems and started back on June 1st. I think he is glad to be working again and getting out of the house on a daily basis. I'm still staying at home with the kids and debating on going back to work. I would love to work, because I like what I do, want to keep up my skills and could use some time away from the house, but the logistics of childcare keep my feet dragging. Ideally, I would like to work in an urgent care or one of the clinics in Walgreens/CVS but trying to find child care for two kids on an irregular basis by someone whom I trust will be difficult. So, for the time being I am at home and working on mission stuff in my spare time.

The first week in June we travelled to Buffalo, NY to meet with the mission board who accepted us as missionary candidates. At this time everything is pointing us to Sierra Leone with the goal of being there in 1 to 1 1/2 years. Now for the not so fun part of support raising. The numbers that were discussed while we were in NY were daunting to say the least, but I know that God will provide for us whether it is $1 or a million dollars. The CIA factbook (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/SL.html) gives a great, although depressing, snapshot of Sierra Leone. I will share more about SL and what Global Outreach Missions is doing there in future posts. Now onto other work while the kids are asleep.