Skip to main content

The Friends' Return

Today is very special! Today our missionary friends return from the field after 4 1/2 years. They are permanently returning to the states. We are headed to Greenville, SC this afternoon to surprise them at the airport. J, J and A will be on American soil at 10pm.

 We first met this lovely family in Wake Forest, NC. They were our downstairs neighbors in the apartment complex provided by the Seminary. The day we arrived, J had said to his wife he wished there was a neighbor he could minister to. We pulled in with a fully loaded U-haul, just as they pulled in from errands. J changed his clothes and spent the next 10 hours helping Steve unload the truck and then take the remaining items to storage and unloaded those. His wife brought up cookies for a snack. It was instant friendship. Even though we were only neighbors for 8 months, it stuck like glue!

Je and A!
The birthday girl getting her twirl on!
5 years old!
Ja and Je adopted an infant from their mission field area the year before we moved in. She is now 7. She is a very intelligent, too old for her time child. Super smart and super busy most of the time, she is sensitive and funny all rolled up into an almond eyed angel. She left America before she could really remember what it was like and has not been her for 2 1/2 years. The only home she truly knows is the mission field from which they came. It is going to be an awesome adventure for her to discover this great land. Je and I affectionately call her Lucy so she doens't know when we are talking about her.

A modeling a dress I made for her!

A and her Woody impression from Toy Story!
J is a radiology technician by trade. He has been tackling the local language since before their move. It is not an easy language. Despite the challenge, he is able to tell people about Jesus in this language. He has been an excellent example of a Godly husband and father, a true leader in his household. He has had to create weekly Sunday service in living rooms for his family and others. He has witnessed to locals and baptized in his bathtub. He is sold out for Jesus.

Ja, my dad, my mom, Me, A, Steve and Je Christmas in Amherst!
Je is a school teacher. She was a career missionary in Asia prior to her marriage to Ja. She has a deep love for these women. She has spent the last 4 years being a wife, mother, home school teacher, cook, laundress, nurse, missionary, and seamstress. Now I know you think well, OK so are many other women. But I can tell you her road has been hard. There is no WalMart in their city. She has had to go to 2 or 3 different grocery stores just to get the basics. Until last fall they did not have a vehicle. So she did her shopping by foot and on the bus with a youngster. It isn't a bus that has a seat either. No, It was one of those fight your way on, fight for a spot to stand kind of buses. She has healed sickness with home remedies, mended and hemmed clothing by hand and washed and dried clothes without a dryer. She has done all of this while suffering with weekly migraines, knee and foot pain.

Je showing off care package items!
I have waited for years for their return. Just when they make the decision to come back the Lord sends us away. It is heartbreaking. I have longed to sit down and share a cup of tea with my friend. Share tea, life and the Lord. Now, we get one week and then separation again. It will definitely be easier to visit, but we all know how that goes. Life takes hold and times passes so fast. We have spent the last few years using Skype to "see" each other and now it looks like we will have to do that again. We begged them to come to Florida with us, much like they begged us to go to them. Just as we never made it to there, they do not want to settle in Florida. Something about "too hot, too many mosquitoes".

It is funny to me that the Lord is not letting us be in close proximity to one another. I don't really understand why? That's how things work with Him, he doesn't always let you know why. I am grateful they are coming home. I am grateful the plane ticket to Ohio is soooo much cheaper than one to their mission city. I am also grateful we have the next week to spend together. For know, I will have to settle for that. I know we will be together in eternity.
A's 7th (2011) birthday!
The G Family Christmas!
Welcome home J, J and A. You have been missed terribly!

In His service
Mally

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It was a Monday

Well, yesterday was my first missed day posting to the blog.  It was truly a Monday.  We moved from my parents house into our "lakefront" property at Lake Yale Conference Center.  For those of you with no idea where Lake Yale is, I have posted a link.   http://www.lybcc.com/   A 27ft camper is now home and we feel really blessed to have been given this place to stay.  It was definitely a challenge to fit everything inside.  I guess I should clarify, we did not bring everything.  We downsized a bit on the clothes, doubled up on each hanger, left a few of Steve's books behind and the harp is staying at Mom's for now.  It took two trips to get everything here.  Just as I pulled in, my parents pulled in behind me.  They had been to a doctor's appointment and stopped by to see the new digs.  My mom marched right up to the sink and began washing dishes for me.  I unloaded my car and attempted to figure out where to put ev...
Post a Comment
Read more

No more memories

 It has been a long 16 months since my last blog post.  Too much has happened...too much. The most significant event was the passing of my mother last September.  It was truly a heart wrenching experience.  Many of you who know me know that my relationship with my mother was difficult.  We loved each other very much, but we had a difficult time spending long periods of time together.  We were both strong willed, independent and opinionated.  She wanted her way and I wanted mine.  Ultimately this caused way too many disagreements and misunderstandings.  These times of turmoil I now realize were a total waste of time for us both.   In those last days, sitting in her hospital room, it became all too apparent we had spend far too many times being frustrated with each other, arguing or not speaking.  When they told us we would have 2 to 12 months on hospice, I resolved myself to make it the best time we had ever had....
Post a Comment
Read more

Time stolen

Time is quickly stolen away as I realize it has been ten days since I last put my thoughts into a posting.  My weekdays are consumed with work and I am so mentally exhausted at the end of the 10-12 hours, I cannot think of anything except doing nothing.  The weekends are a dash of running errands, church activities and trying to cram time in with family and friends.  When I woke this morning, I could not believe Saturday and Sunday had already come to a close.  This morning actually consisted of my husband waking me at eight minutes after seven.  For a point of reference, I usually leave the house at 7:05 am each day.  That should give you a quick understanding of how my Monday started with a bang.  Before I could get to the car, one of my employees was calling to tell me she would be out sick today.  I tried to force my brain into action as I reviewed what else was going on today.  It had already escaped my memory that I had one employee c...
Post a Comment
Read more