The home land.

Well, we've been in the US for a little over a week now.  It seems like the time is moving very fast.  It's amazing how quickly the days go by when you spend a good part of either the morning or afternoon or both at doctor's offices or looking for clothes on sale or visiting a local playground.  It's much colder here than I expected so I left our plethora of winter clothing behind us in hopes/delusion of warmer times...  I had to make a trip to Goodwill just to get some jackets for the girls.  My parents have recently moved to a new state (South Carolina) and so we are enjoying getting to know the surroundings and their beautiful home, as well as starting to connect with friends we have in the Charlotte area.  Next week, we'll head to Tennessee for a week with Scotty's folks and then off to a retreat sans children for a whole week!  We have high expectations for that time and are praying for the Lord to speak to us and start a new work in our hearts.

Highlights so far (these might not be so exciting to those of you who haven't lived in a developing country):

IHOP- oh my gosh- whipped cream and giant pancakes.
Fast internet.  My list could end here with the great joy this brings us.
Playgrounds that focus on child safety.  No rusty nails or missing boards or broken swings or broken glass.  And they are EVERYWHERE.
Retail stores with clearance sales.
Trees.
WIDE roads.
Siri.  My new best friend.
My parents.  Always available when we need them.
Cereal.  So much variety!
Flushing toilet paper.  Ironically, Natty still throws hers in the trash can 90% of the time and giggles when she actually remembers to put it in the toilet.

Chocolate chip pancakes.  I think she's excited.

Hopefully, the next few weeks will bring some more significant thoughts and processing that I can share.  One thing I'll say for this country- it is easily distracting.

A step back.

We've had some pretty rough days around here.  We've reached a crucial moment in our lives and ministry where the necessity of seeking some help, restoration, guidance and rest has made itself very evident.  It all happened fast and also slow- but either way, we're boarding a plane tomorrow to head back to the US for a time.  I think I've gone through every possible emotion, several times.  The overwhelming thought and feeling that reoccurs often is that I love my life in Bolivia.  It's not perfect and there are some things that I still miss about the States, but I have such an incredible community here.  As we said good-bye to families at church, Scotty and I felt so appreciated, supported and encouraged.  Our work has not been in vain, even though it feels like that sometimes.  God has used us here, in ways we are not often aware of and we don't want to forget that or choose to believe otherwise.   And, I have some real, deep friendships here…both with nationals and ex-pats.  My girls are thriving.  I love raising them in another culture, in another language.  But, we need to hear from the Lord anew.  We want His call on us to be serving as missionaries to be refreshed.  We want to know ourselves more- who He has created us to be and with what gifts, so that we can better serve with joy.  So, we have chosen to step out for a bit in order to find that still, small voice that has gotten muddled with the rest of it.  I think we are so blessed to be able to do this.  Not everyone has the chance to stop and take a break and seek emotional and spiritual health.  The Lord is good to give this time to us.  There are so many praying and for that, we can't be more thankful.  We are learning to depend on the Lord in a deeper way again and to call out to Him more than before.  We trust that He will pick us up out of the pit and put our feet on higher ground.  We pray that our marriage will be stronger, that our family will be more united.  We have hope and we know we will not be disappointed.