Being Back

    One of the strangest parts of going abroad is coming back. This is the time when you find yourself a stranger eventhough you're at home.  For Jen and I, here are a few of the impressions we've had in coming back to the U.S. from Africa:
      >  America is so spoiled!  The other day Nathanael invited some friends into the house to get a drink of water.  He was so proud to show them that you can drink the water, right from the tap.  His friends weren't that impressed.  Running hot water on demand, clean filtered water in the taps, food, food, food everywhere you turn and without worries of it making you sick, paved roads, large parking spaces, garbage trucks and mailmen, Walmarts, high speed wireless internet...I almost cried the first time I got on the internet; Jen had the same reaction the first time she did laundry.  Everything is so easy and convenient! Don't get me wrong, I love it.  But the fact of the matter is that none of us in the West should ever complain.  We have it so easy.
     >  Everyone looks the same.  Everywhere I go, I feel like I should know people.  In Guinea we were living the small town life where you know someone everywhere you go, but here I feel like everyone around me looks really familiar because they're all white, Americans.  Furthermore, I look the same.  I guess I got used to the super star status we enjoyed in Africa--everyone staring and pointing at us, calling out to us as we walk by, clamoring for our attention, running up for a high five or a hug.  Back stateside, I know I'm different from everyone else, having lived abroad and experienced another part of the world, but no one around me seems to notice it.  To the naked eye I'm just regular Joe.  But I don't want to be regular Joe.  I've learned and experienced so much, I just can't fit back into "regular" society.
     >  Safe!  I didn't realize the tension that had built up from always being on guard.  Especially towards the end of our time, I was always looking out for potential threats and hazards to our health:  Will we get sick if we rinse our toothbrush in the sink?  Will the kids catch malaria if they play in the backyard?  Am I safe sleeping without insect repellent?  Can I let Abi crawl around the floor without getting some kind of rash?  Can I try the food at the local stand?  Did we disenfect the apples before eating them?  Our bodies are definitely still readjusting, working out some the symptoms we've acquired abroad:  skin problems, stomach issues, etc.  But it's so nice to feel safe again.  Even on the airplane I felt such relief in being able to ingest things without thinking about what consequences might result.  And now that we're back, I'm going to the opposite extreme, eating food that's fallen on the floor or fruits and veggies right out of the bag.  I'm so relaxed about everything because things here are so much more sanitary and safe.  We have quite the horror stories to share when it comes to unsanitary conditions that everything here feels like living in a hospital.

    As predicted, I'm finding myself much more quiet and pensive.  I even had to force myself to write down this post, feeling more the need and desire to withdraw into myself rather than try to share it with others.  I guess it's due to fear that no one will understand, that others can't understand what I myself am having a hard time wrapping my mind around.  So more than anything this journal entry is an attempt to try to unravel what I'm going through.  There's a LOT more to process and discuss, the emotions of family dynamics, job security vs. vacation time just to name a couple, but at least this is a start.  It will be interesting to see how it all plays out, and what kind of person and family we become through it all.  One thing is for sure, we are not the same as when we left, at least for now...  

Made it!

Just fyi, we made it back to the U.S. safely.  Our trip was very smooth.  Abi had some diarrhea issues throughout the whole trip but maintained a cheerful disposition.  The kids slept on most of our flights.  We watched lots of movies.  And now we're back, excited to have hot water, sleep in a real bed and not be sweaty all the time.

Thanks for all your prayers for our journey.  God was faithful to answer them all.  He is a good God.

Misc. and Malaria

     This last month has been really busy so I’m going to summarize using bullet points.

Ø  May 10-11—Homeschool Beach Trip.  We took 12 kids from different missionary families on a camping trip to the beach, a conclusion to our monthly homeschool meetings.

Ø  May 17—Last day of swimming plus Pablo’s birthday party at the pool.  Jesse was diving down to the bottom of the pool.

Ø  May 18—Children’s Ministry Training.  I did a training for 20 leaders from 3 different churches in Sangaredi.  This was part two to the training I had given earlier in the year.

Ø  May 25—Soccer Team Beach Day.  Andres and I drove the champions out to Bel Air beach as an end of the year celebration.  Our host cooked us fish and rice.  We played soccer on the beach and nearly sunk a boat.  The boys had a great time!

Ø  May 29—Andrew and Jen’s 9^th wedding anniversary.  I cooked pancakes and bacon (Jen’s favorite and a rare treat in Guinea).  On the 31^st the Galvez babysat for us and we went out to eat in Kamsar.  We also did grocery shopping.  Very romantic!

Ø  June 1^st—Hannah Jensen’s graduation party in Tarensa.  We joined the other missionary families for one last get together, celebrating one of the missionary girls’ completion of her high school courses.  We also played volleyball.

Ø  June 7^th—Last day of school.  Having already finished all our exams and packed up the school the day before, we canceled class and let the kids sleep in (the teachers got to sleep in too!).  We concluded the year with a celebration lunch for the whole school, the parents, and our helpers. 

Ø  June 9^th—Farewell Church Service.  From 9 to 11:30 we had a nice short service (I gave the sermon).  Then from 11:30 to 1 there was a formal goodbye ceremony, including speeches from the Boke, Sangaredi, and Kamsar pastors and the 3 heads of the missionary families (Cees, Andres, and I).  There were also gifts, songs, and official goodbye certificates.  Following this we then went up to the pastor’s house for a goodbye lunch.  The people were extremely generous and appreciative despite the fact that we have only been here one year and the Galvez and Snetselaar’s are planning on returning.

Ø  June 10-12—Packing up.  We have almost everything packed up already and Fatim is helping clean the house.  Yesterday Saliou also hosted a soccer “gala” in our honor.  I scored two goals (one was counted offsides) and our team won 2-1(should have been 3-0). 

Ø  June 16^th—Departure.  Only a few days left now and we’ll be heading out.  Here is our itinerary:

§  Boke to Conakry, departing June 16^th at 11 a.m.

§  Conakry to Brussels (with a stop in Dakar, Senegal).

§  Brussels to Chicago

§  Chicago to Seattle, arriving June 17^th at 5:30 p.m.

o   Total Travel Time: approx. 38 hours.

o   Total Time Change:  8 hours difference.

o   Total Exhaustion Level:  150%

     It’s crazy that our Guinean adventure is finally ending.  It’s been an amazing year.  What a great experience.  I have no words to sum everything up.  I hope the blog this year is enough to capture an overall taste of what it’s been like.  I’m sure I’ve left out plenty, but it’s the best I could do.

     Thanks to all of you who have followed the blog and prayed for us.  As we finish up we ask for your continued prayers for the following:

          Pray for smooth and safe travels as we fly to the U.S.

          Pray for an easy transition back into U.S. culture.

Pray for God’s provision and direction for a job, a home, a church, and schools.

Pray for God’s continued work in our lives and amongst the people of Guinea, especially the Jahango people group.

     I’ll try to update with a couple more posts as we land in the U.S. and figure out what we’re doing next.  Thanks so much for all your support.  May God’s peace and blessings be over your lives as well!  Praise be to God!

p.s.  After having written this post I contracted a pretty severe case of malaria.  After having passed out in the Dr’s office, I spent about four hours in the clinic hooked up to an IV.  I’m now on three different kinds of medicine.  I’m feeling a lot better than I did yesterday but am still not 100%.  Thanks to all of you praying.  Please keep praying.  I really need to be at full strength for our long travel home, and we really need the whole family to be healthy.  Thank you!