Visiting, visiting!

We haven’t posted since Christmas, since we have been busy visiting loved ones and moving to be near our biggest supporting church in Fairfield, Connecticut.  In January, we enjoyed a trip west to see each of my sisters, and it was a very happy reunion.  My older sister hadn’t seen Toby or Kevin in five years, and the three weeks we spent at her house were the most relaxing we have had since our return to the states.  Many, many happy times and memories together.

We also had a wonderful time visiting my younger sister, who took us to see some very interesting Creatures at the LaBrea Tar Pits!  We had so much fun with her and she enjoyed seeing her darling nephews.  The whole trip was a real vacation for us, and we felt that it was truly a gift from God for our family.  We were also thankful to miss the worst of the winter storms on the East Coast.

It seems to us, wherever we go, we have just been bathed in love during this furlough.  People have been really kind to us, and interested in our work.  We feel so humbled and grateful, really.

On our return from “the big trip”, we enjoyed a few days with Kevin’s family (including his brother and family visiting from Ohio) before making the move to Fairfield, CT, just an hour south of Kevin’s parents’ house.  We are staying in the missions house for Black Rock Congregational Church, and it is nice to have our own place and some “quiet” months to focus on things that need to be done before we return to Mozambique.  It seems there are always habits and researching that you want to have in your life, and we just never seem to have the time to address those.  Now we do.  We are back into Portuguese study, homeschooling Toby, and looking forward to some spiritual refreshment and growth.  With only four months to go before our return to Mozambique, time is running out!

Our support level is still too low to allow us to return, but we believe that God will provide in his timing.  Meanwhile, we continue to move forward with plans until he shuts the door.  Our hope is to leave at the end of June or beginning of July, entering Moz before our residence permit extension expires on July 16th.   We appreciate your prayers! – c