Three years and counting

Yesterday (October 17) we celebrated three years on the field. THREE YEARS!

In some ways, it seems like the time has gone by so fast. Yet it also seems like it was such a long time ago since we last stood face to face with our friends and family in America.

I remember that morning like it was yesterday.

The day we were to set out for our harvest field, we had decided ahead of time that we should say goodbye to my parents at their house rather than having a long, drawn out, emotional scene at the airport. I’m pretty sure it would have been a two-hour tearful drive all the way down to the New Orleans airport, and that’s just not the way you want to start a long plane ride.

Instead our dear friends, Rene Dungan and Carol Davis, arrived at the house at 4am that morning to drive us down. Before our departure, we were also surprised by a visit from Tom and Gloria Thurman who wanted to join with us in a parting prayer. 

I remember the sunrise that morning as we crossed the Lake Pontchartrain bridge into New Orleans. It was the dawn of a new day and a new adventure.

These three years have been an adventure for sure, but it has also been so much more than that. It’s been a life-altering, mind-blowing, rock-your-world kind of experience.

There was our initial culture shock: there’s no cellphones here? There’s no Western restaurants of any kind here? There’s no hair salon that can do highlights? What?!?!

There was the really fun experience of language learning: um, can you speak a little slower? Um, can you say that again? Um, can you speak to me like I’m a toddler just learning to talk? Huh?!?

There are all the mistakes we made: you can’t go in there. You can’t sit like that. You can’t say it like that. You’re not supposed to eat that! Uh oh…

But most surprising of all were all the relationships and friendships that were made: you cooked that for me? I can’t believe you came this far just to see me. She did that for me! Wow…

Over these three years, we have fallen in love with this country and these people, and we are so thankful for every opportunity we’ve had with them.

We celebrated our three year anniversary by doing what we do pretty regularly here -

CJ spent the morning training local partners.

The girls and I did homeschool.

In the afternoon, the whole family went out to visit some friends, and that evening CJ and I had a dinner date. (Our dinner date is not an everyday thing. It’s about a once a month opportunity that just happened to fall on our three year anniversary. Perfect timing!)

Sharing the Good News and spending time with friends and family – what better way could there have been to celebrate these awesome three years?

Three years and counting, I should say.

We are looking forward to many more years of serving our Father in His harvest field, as He sees fit to lead us.