We made it back to Dallas safely today but very tired. The loooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggg journey home was pretty much uneventful and just as we prayed God provided exit row seating and bulk head seating for most of the flights which was a tremendous blessing for my long legged husband. And we are so thankful that this time Dennis had no trouble getting through the gates of immigration!!! We praise God for answering even the smallest details of our prayers. We both kept saying today that the trip back and forth to Kenya seems to only get longer the more we do it. Pray for us as we again transition to life back in the States and as we jump back to the busyness of life here. Our bodies sure received a shock as we were welcomed into the Detroit airport by they chilly cold air and snow covered ground. Texas isn't quite so cold but still a very big change from the 90 degree heat and humidity and sweat of Mombasa!!!! We are glad to be back in our cozy little barn home here in Argyle. Again as we left our home in Mombasa and welcomed back to our home hear in Texas and as we look forward to traveling home to North Carolina for Christmas we were both reminded that THIS WORLD is not our home. Dennis and I are blessed to have many places here on earth that we can call home and many people that we can call family, and that can get confusing sometimes, but we are most thankful that we have a real HOME in heaven awaiting us thats perfect...not too hot, not too cold, not too dirty or too clean, but just perfect.
Please pray for our dear friend Jane Loewer and her family. Jane and her husband Wes and 3 kids are long term missionary friends of ours who live in Nairobi. We stayed in their home in on our way back from Busia last week. While we were in the airport in Nairobi yesterday we ran into Jane who sadly told us that her father had suddenly passed away that morning and she was traveling back home alone to CT to be with her mother. She will be away from her husband and kids for the next three weeks until after Christmas to be with her mom and family as they mourn the loss of Jane's Dad. As we embraced and shared tears in the airport Jane's sweet spirit and hope and faith in Christ was a huge encouragement to me. Her father loved Jesus and she knows he's rejoicing in his new home in heaven now. Please pray for Jane as she is in the States with her mother during this time of loss and pray for her and her husband and children back in Nairobi as they are away from each other this Christmas season.
We arrived in Dallas this afternoon and have tried to stay awake but were clearly defeated when we put on a movie about 5pm and both fell asleep. Dennis is still asleep and I'm quickly fading again......so I will say a quick goodnight and thank you for everyone's prayers for us as we were gone and as we have traveled.
Our plans for the next few months as we pray for our support to return to Kenya are written in pencil...but this is somewhat of how we see things might go....We are here in Denton for the next week as Dennis will be officiating the wedding of his little American brother, Chase and his fiancee Erin next Saturday the 15th. Soon after that (no date yet) we will fly to North Carolina to spend Christmas with my family there. We have to be back in Dallas by January 5th for our long awaited interview with immigration (which should be the final step to getting Dennis' permanent resident card) we've been praying for. (pray as i gather together all the documents we have to send to the lawyer for that) . Then we will be in Denton for the Denton Bible Serve International Missions Conference. Most of the Serve Missionary families will be coming home from the field for that. Its going to be exciting. Then after that our plans are up in the air depending on where our support raising is at. We will be making a visit to California at some point to visit supporters there and then back to N.C., praying as we hope to return to Kenya long term in the next 4 or 5 months. Exciting ministry opportunities are just waiting there for us to get back to so we are praying for the Lord's wisdom and direction, and patience for HIS perfect timing.