It's Friday afternoon in L.A. and Sue and I are now home. Today we flew from London to LA--our 16th and final flight of our trip. We arrived in London on Monday afternoon and spent a few days there to unwind, reflect, debrief, and rest up before heading back home. We took it easy most days, explored museums, walked through the streets, parks and alleyways, and enjoyed the sights of this beautiful city.
Thursday, we took a train out to Cambridge to meet up with a random group of friends who all happened to be in or around London at the same time. We spent the afternoon punting on the Cam and exploring the town.
Here we are with Fred and Susan Sanders and their kids, Lisa and Paul Spears and kids, Daryl and Becky Spradley and kids, Philip Massey, and Breanna Holtz. This was a great way to end our time overseas, slowly reconnecting with friends from church with stories of God's grace in our travels, filling them in our our missionaries, and preparing us to reenter our life back home while still overseas.
Sue and I realize that the past month is still a bit of a blur. We left on June 22 and arrived home at 1:00 on July 22. In the past month we've touched down on three continents, traveled through nine countries, visited four missionary families from our church and a whole host of their coworkers, slept two nights on planes and two nights on benches in airports. We traveled as far south as the equator and spent time in grasslands, desert, and jungles. We began to realize the vast diversity of cultures on the African continent. We heard about and saw the devastation of war, famine, and political turmoil. We heard stories of God's faithfulness in the midst of life-threatening crisis. We met people who have counted the cost of discipleship and are committed to following Jesus, no matter what. And we have witnessed God's faithfulness in fulfilling His promise to build His church among every tribe, tongue, and people of this earth.
There is much to reflect on, much to process, and we're continuing to ask God how to steward all we've seen, heard, and experienced. We're grateful for your constant prayers for us. All along the way, we have counted it a privilege to serve our God, our missionaries, and our church. God was faithful at every point, providing all we needed, and more. Give thanks to Him along with us for His goodness and faithfulness.
Thursday, we took a train out to Cambridge to meet up with a random group of friends who all happened to be in or around London at the same time. We spent the afternoon punting on the Cam and exploring the town.
Here we are with Fred and Susan Sanders and their kids, Lisa and Paul Spears and kids, Daryl and Becky Spradley and kids, Philip Massey, and Breanna Holtz. This was a great way to end our time overseas, slowly reconnecting with friends from church with stories of God's grace in our travels, filling them in our our missionaries, and preparing us to reenter our life back home while still overseas.
Sue and I realize that the past month is still a bit of a blur. We left on June 22 and arrived home at 1:00 on July 22. In the past month we've touched down on three continents, traveled through nine countries, visited four missionary families from our church and a whole host of their coworkers, slept two nights on planes and two nights on benches in airports. We traveled as far south as the equator and spent time in grasslands, desert, and jungles. We began to realize the vast diversity of cultures on the African continent. We heard about and saw the devastation of war, famine, and political turmoil. We heard stories of God's faithfulness in the midst of life-threatening crisis. We met people who have counted the cost of discipleship and are committed to following Jesus, no matter what. And we have witnessed God's faithfulness in fulfilling His promise to build His church among every tribe, tongue, and people of this earth.
There is much to reflect on, much to process, and we're continuing to ask God how to steward all we've seen, heard, and experienced. We're grateful for your constant prayers for us. All along the way, we have counted it a privilege to serve our God, our missionaries, and our church. God was faithful at every point, providing all we needed, and more. Give thanks to Him along with us for His goodness and faithfulness.