Back home

We have arrived back in Maputo after many hours of traveling across the world. Our children were absolute troopers while we spent approximately 41 hours returning from our holiday in the frozen tundra (actually I must admit it wasn't that cold!). We left early Thursday morning on a flight to JFK. We arrived in New York around 10 am with great aspirations of seeing a bit of the city or maybe taking a trip to Ellis Island to show our children the Statue of Liberty up close and personal. However, much to our dismay the porter who helped us haul our baggage from the arrivals to the departures area informed us that South African Airways ticket counter would not open until 1:30 (at the earliest) and the only place that would stow our bags would cost $25 per bag (we had 8!). So needless to say we decided that we would spend the day enjoying the JFK airport with our children before we flew out again at 6 pm. So here's a helpful note to all of you who may be considering international flights anytime soon. When traveling make sure to check on baggage storage options before assuming you will be able to check them in for your next connecting flight. You may be wondering why we didn't check our bags through from Minnesota to Johannesburg South Africa and that would be because they were different carriers and refused to work together! Ah the beauty of modern travel!

When we stepped out of the tiny Maputo International Airport we were warmly greeted by 95 degree weather and smiling friends faces. We were all greatly relieved to be home and found our surroundings to be less shocking and more familiar than we would have expected. Although being back in Maputo was a complete collision of opposites from where we had been in the US, we were aware of the sense of home we felt during the drive from the airport. While the kids were busy chattering and saying, "Oh look it's the painted wall" or "Hey look they built a new sidewalk there" we quickly realized just how much this place has become home.

We so enjoyed our time in the States to experience again the wonderful luxuries that we missed - Target, clean bathrooms, Diet Coke, green salads, drive throughs, American candy bars, dinner with friends, favorite restaurants, shopping malls, Bath and Body, and Caribou. Although all those little luxuries were far outweighed by our time with family and friends. We SO enjoyed our time to reconnect face to face with our loved ones. To give hugs and see smiles and share meals (yes, there was LOTS of eating on this trip!) and spend time being able to have conversations without static connections or time delays. We loved watching our kids get excited about seeing their friends and cousins and grandparents. We were delighted to meet the newest memeber of our family and share in a few of the responsibilities of her life - bottles, burping, and rocking to soothe. We loved our New Year's eve with friends playing games and yes, eating more food. We were so happy to see and hug (although briefly) those of you who made it to the open house. We completely enjoyed our opportunities to share what God is doing in Africa and where we fit in that plan. Steve was like a pig in mud being back with "the guys" playing cards, staying up late and laughing about "guy stuff". We are so incredibly thankful to all of you who put your lives on hold and made time in your schedules for us while we were in town. It was SO good to be with you again.

We feel refueled and filled up again to do what we have been called to do here in Mozambique. As this new year unfolds with all it's challenges and adventures we will continue to write and hopefully share our experiences with you in a way that makes you feel like you've been for a visit to our part of the world. Thanks for loving us and taking the journey with us - even from afar!