One of the main reasons we are here in the USA this year is to visit our individual and church supporters to update them and report.  Last furlough, we spent several weeks putting together a beautiful brochure, a nice video, a display board and other materials.  By the time we settled in one place and began work on our materials this time, however, there was only a week to go before some major church visits!  Kevin and I sat and looked at each other helplessly, both too tired to pull out all the stops for new materials.  We were thankful that we had prayer cards done, and our old display board was still in good condition.  Here’s a photo of it while we were in process with updating it.   I wish I had kept a list of all the places and people we visited in November and December – there were a lot!  On one trip, we had 4 meetings in 3 towns in 3 days.  Those kind of visits are always tiring, but what ALWAYS stands out to us is how kind people are to us.  One supporter invited us for a delicious lunch with her family, and as I thanked her before we left, she replied “No, thank YOU for going.”  It brought tears to my eyes.  It is a privilege to go, but there are sacrifices involved and it is encouraging to spend time with the many people who make it possible and who are praying for us.  The kids do great with the visits, well-trained by now in shaking hands, telling a little bit about their lives, and smiling for the group.  They get an awful lot of treats along the way, and agree that they don’t suffer too much.  Plus people really enjoy seeing them – so much bigger than five years ago!

There is so much I could say about visiting churches, all of it mostly centered around the theme that we feel so privileged to go out and represent the dear believers in them.  We usually depart feeling very loved and acutely aware that we probably fall short in many ways, not because of anything they say to us, but because they treat us with such kindness and favor!  -C

What could be better than doing fun stuff in the USA?  Doing fun stuff in the USA with your friends from Mozambique!!!  We were so thankful to be able to spend time with two different families that we know in Nampula, who were both visiting in the USA near our location.  The kids often feel like others don’t understand their lives (and they usually don’t) so it is a relief to be with kids who have been to your house, played with your dogs, seen your school, and have known you for years.  If only the time didn’t go so fast!  – C

Can you believe that both sets of our parents celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversaries this year?  We were so thankful to be able to celebrate with both sides of the family in September and October in vacations together.

So many years go by between our family get-togethers that they are super special.  That’s kind of a cheesy thing to say, but when at least 4 years go by, and in the case of Cami’s family 11 1/2 years, it is WONDERFUL to sit at a table together and be able to look into the face of each dear person.

It is also very important that the kids get to see their relatives and really feel that they are part of a bigger family.  It was really fun to watch them enjoy that, and be loved by people who have known them their whole lives.  The picture at left is missing Cami’s younger sister, who is taking the photo, but otherwise the photos contain all of our parents, brothers and sisters and their spouses, and nieces and nephews.  -C

Although our main purpose in visiting South Africa was to do all the medical checkups required by our boss, we managed to combine that with a visit to dear friends that we hadn’t seen in 14 years, and who had never met our kids.  They were so gracious, giving us a place to stay and a car to use while we did many doctor’s appointments and then spent a number of days doing fun things like visiting a lion park, a cheetah park, a King Tut exhibit, seeing the penguins and whales off the coast (from the shore!), and of course the iconic Table Mountain from several viewpoints.  Kevin and I managed to go out a nice restaurant one night to celebrate the 23rd wedding anniversary that we had skipped 3 weeks before (too busy!), and we spent his birthday seeing some sights.  We stayed in the town where we did our graduate degrees, and it was an odd feeling to be back after so many years, seeing the same buildings and views, yet somehow very changed.  And we ourselves are very changed – and with kids!  We are very thankful for this time “in between” and the wonderful people who made it possible.  It was a much-needed transition period between our life in rough-and-ready Nampula and the better organized USA.  When it was time to go, we were ready to get on the “big plane” and wing 9 1/2 hours to Dubai, then a quick turnaround onto our 14 hour flight on to New York.  We are so thankful for all the uneventful, easy flights and that the luggage arrived with no problems.  Kevin’s parents were waiting for us, with the used car we bought from friends, and there we were – in the USA.  Kevin hadn’t been back in four years, though the kids and I came through that same airport 1 1/2 years ago.  Wow.  – C

And what do Americans do first when they get the chance?  Go to the  movies. Yup.  – C

We had a lot of goodbyes over the last few weeks in Nampula.  Missionary friends, expat friends, teachers at the school, people at our church, pets, neighbors.  We tried to plan as many of them as possible:  “We’ll say goodbye to these three people at the school event; we must plan dinner with X and her family.  Let’s be sure to stop by the corner a say bye to the fruit merchant, and don’t forget to call Y and wish them well before we go.”  This went on for weeks and weeks!  It was important to not offend anyone by forgetting them, and there were many dear faces we needed to see one more time.

The morning we left, the kids moved around restlessly, packing and repacking their backpacks with the few items they were bringing along.  As people stopped by the house to say goodbye to me, I rushed to get ready to go, pulling my wet hair into a ponytail and shoving the last items in my carry-on bag.  Then it was time to get in the car and all I could think was, “I’m not ready!”  The kids took a few minutes to say goodbye to the dogs, but I went straight to the car – I couldn’t cope with any more farewells at the moment.  It felt surreal.

At the airport, several of the monitors came to see us off, which was a sacrifice on their part because they had to walk a long distance, or get off work, or walk on a painful knee.  Someone’s cousin drove them to the airport in his taxi and we stood around not knowing what to say, knowing that each of us was going to experience a great many things before we met again.  There were hearty handshakes, a circled prayer, and waves as we went in to immigration control.

There we fumbled for documents, needing to have letters of exit stamped and dated.  We didn’t dare have a mistake made, or our return might be very difficult and expensive.  Finally all the paperwork was done and we went on through security, to be asked for one final bribe for the cash we carried legally.  We laughed – this is Mozambique!!

The plane was a hour late in arriving and leaving, but when we finally walked out on the tarmac to board, each of these dear friends was still standing at the rail above us, waving with big smiles.  I remember when we left on furlough five years ago – there was one solitary Mozambican waving goodbye to us.  What a joy to see the faces of these men – who will carry on the work this year and make the program truly local-run.  

Settling into the little plane, we watched the earth fall away; knowing that the sight of the little mud houses out the window is one we won’t see for a long time.  What a shock it was to land in Johannesburg, with superhighways and towering office buildings and huge malls!   I feel such a sense of dislocation sometimes as I think of the sights we saw every day in Mozambique, and compare them to what I see out the car window here in the USA, a feeling that somehow I belong there, yet slipping so easily into living here.  -C

Most of you know that we spend four years on the field, and then have up to a year in the USA to rest, visit supporters, get further training and see family members.  We have known for a long time that furlough was coming up in August, and so since January have been slowly culling items out to sell or give away, fix things around the house for our incoming renters, making arrangements with the guards (we still have guards at night, absolutely necessary), and getting the dogs squared away with shots (all administered by us!) and such.  There is a lot required to pack away a life, and we’ve asked the kids to help with that so that they are part of the process.  This is a photo of Toby packing up all of his books – he had to clean out his desk, take down his posters, and decide what to pack and what to keep.  Ben required more help, but seemed to take it all in stride.  We are thankful that we are coming back to this house, and the kids could pack up their treasures without having to cull them.

We are thankful that our renters wanted to use most of the furniture, because it wouldn’t have fit in our container!  Every dish, every book, every electronic device was packed away in a plastic trunk and stacked in the big metal container outside the house.  It was a good way to prepare for being away from all of our things, instead of just walking away from them and being whisked away on an airplane.   However, it is an odd separation to leave your home for a whole year, putting away scrapbooks and favorite kitchen tools and books.  After being away from those things for awhile, you start to forget where your things are, and wonder if you’ve left your John Grisham novel in the container, loaned it to a friend, given it away, or sold it at the garage sale!

The dogs certainly seemed to know that something was up, and would watch us soberly.  Maybe they’ve had enough experience with our little trips to know that we were leaving.  Unfortunately, we said goodbye permanently to my little dog, Mattuvi, who was killed by the biggest male dog a couple of weeks ago.  Although I am glad I wasn’t there to see the destruction of his poor little body, the kids and I don’t have much closure since we didn’t bury him and mourn.

But I go on too long – our possessions are packed, except those things we would need this year like homeschool books and clothes, and gifts for supporters.  It is a strange life, to go away from “home” for a year, back to “home”. – C