Home again, home again

We ended up being in town about 2 weeks longer than we had hoped, although we came out knowing there was potential for us to get stuck for the whole month of August. So I'm thankful we are able to return today. I was telling a friend that it's really hard for me to mentally be in two places at once. It's difficult to stay in the guesthouse and also think ahead to all that we need to accomplish in the next few months (and years!) in the village. While it's only a 2 hr flight away, being in town is completely different than being in the village. We've enjoyed daily trips to the store to grab bread and milk (such convenience!), the luxury of buying street food or going out to eat when we don't feel like cooking, the time spent with coworkers that we rarely see because they have their own ministries, being able to play team sports or exercise in an AC'd room, and the kids getting time with other missionary kids that, as Amelia said, "speak our same language". It's really been fun. Even having a son sick with Typhoid was easier because we were in town with easy access to the exact medicine we needed, help from expat medical staff, and a hospital nearby (though with Covid, we were praying we wouldn't need to take him). 

I'm writing this from our village home, having just landed a couple hours ago. The flight in is a great time to think, decompress, and recenter after the busy morning of packing and loading (and unloading some since we had slightly too much weight) the plane.  As we flew over the mountains towards the lowlands, my thoughts were with the Afghani people, especially believers. Oh how they must be terrified. I was thankful for the prompting of the Holy Spirit to spend some time in prayer for them. It calmed me to remember His sovereignty even amidst the evil happenings we see over there. It excited me to know how many are lifting up the church there and how God is going to redeem the ugly and the broken for good, whether it be now or later. My cousin was stationed in a major city there and was one of the last to leave. I'm sure I don't know what that feels like and I pray that we (especially Americans) can have compassionate hearts for our veterans and the Afhgan people in the days to come.

About an hr later my prayers took a turn, as we encountered quite a bit of turbulence flying through a storm system. Turns out I don't love feeling like a rag doll in the sky. Thankfully we had cleared the mountains and I took comfort knowing that we were over the flatlands...you know...in case we had to emergency land in low visibility. Despite the wind and rain, our very competent pilots landed the plane successfully on the river. Sam said he almost puked but we're all thankful he didnt. 

We've unpacked most things already (more to come in over the next couple weeks) and the kids are already right at home. We brought back a male kitten with us so it's been fun watching him explore and discover that he's in the middle of nowhere like the rest of us. We have yet to name him. Sam's vote is Dinner but I think he'll be outvoted.

Thanks for praying for our return home. I'm so thankful we had all the necessary permissions to fly home, that our visa renewal was successful, and that we are all healthy now. Hopefully we can begin a routine soon! We all need it!