Checked one bag...ouch, I know...last time I checked a bag was 2 years ago on the way to Greece... didn't see our bags for 6 days, the exact length of that portion of our trip! So the last evening when we received the bags, I figured I should just change outfits 6 times to show everyone what I would have worn if we had had our luggage!
Everything went smoothly again...thanks for your prayers. I feel lonely for Terry already and hope he finds lots to do while I'm gone. Sometimes I ask friends if they'll call or invite him to lunch or dinner while I'm gone...this time I didn't do that. He does have weekend gigs in Nashville to keep him out of a bit of trouble, but if you're reading this and live in Canton, you really should give him a call or invitation! Or invite yourselves over to Lake Arrowhead. Tonight there's a parade and fireworks, and I'm not sure what else will be going on over the weekend and on Monday, the 4th. But I do worry about a man who thinks that 2 tablespoons full of peanut butter is a balanced meal! 10 days of that may find him dropping a few pounds, and then I'll really be jealous!
Just sitting here at the gate with everyone else in various stages of the waiting process... reading, conversing, listening to whatever on their ipods, eating, or just plain looking bored. Some of these people have perfected that one! No afternoon storms thus far, and the indication is that the planes are on time. (don't they always say that to lull us into a false sense of security???)
This was by far the most peaceful leaving I've done...(minus the visa stress of yesterday)...the packing was finished days ago, with little last minute changes, and we had a leisurely lunch before figuring we'd just go. Guess it was a good thing, though, because going through the heart of Atlanta there was a ton of traffic, though we never could figure out the holdup. Uneventful rest of the drive. Terry parked so he could help me get my bags in...you know how he never lets me carry anything at all. We have walked through airports with him carrying 4 big bags and me carrying my little handbag! I always feel like the princess...and of course he's my prince, for whom I am forever grateful.
I am really excited to be returning to one of my favorite countries (well, I've yet to find an UN-favorite one!), and to be digging in, getting ready to do some work to further the kingdom. I am appreciative of your prayers...many comments on facebook. Thank you. More tomorrow, I hope.
The man I love
Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina
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Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
I'm going to Brazil!
Today was the long-awaited visa appointment, complete with not a few qualms about even receiving it. I've had several different experiences with consulates who "forgot" about the appointment or just decided they were not going to grant one that day. I've also been at the border of Czechoslovakia (years ago) and the border guards refused us entry...because they could. One might ask, "why did you wait until the day before you were leaving to do this?" And my answer would be because today was the first available appointment from the time I applied for the visa, 2 weeks ago. Since it's not possible to talk to a live person, one just applies online and takes the appointment given on the site. Besides that, the only time the application can be filled out is when you already have your travel date and tickets. I had been waiting on a few others whom I was hoping would travel with me. Don't know what I'd have done if anything had gone wrong, because the tickets were non-refundable. Thank you Lord that it all went off without a hitch.
I'm appreciative of all your prayers, because I was called early to the window, did not need every piece of paperwork that was requested on the website, and after a nice lunch date with Terry and wandering around the Phipps Plaza (a bit deserted), at 3:12 pm today I got the visa that will allow me to travel back and forth for the next 10 years. The 3:12 is significant because both Terry and I were raised in homes with addresses of 312. We're sentimental saps, so every cause for celebration is seized with enthusiasm. The dark chocolate Reeses peanut butter cups tasted extra good today!
We left Buckhead about 3:30-ish, and the drive home was easy and traffic-free. Oh yeah, since this week is "no toll" week, we breezed right through the toll gates both going and coming! Nice little extra serendipity.
Since I'm all packed...yes, really, down to my vitamins and Max-GXL...I can make a scrumptious dinner for my hubby and we can relax and enjoy our last evening together for the next 10 days.
I would appreciate prayers for more smooth journeys...flying out of Atlanta tomorrow afternoon with a couple hours in Miami, then on to Salvador...few minutes on the ground and finally to Recife. Drew (good friend for the last 20 years...helped me with the adoption of Caroline and Alan) will pick me up and we'll drive a couple hours to Joao Pessoa, my home base for the next 10 days. Lots of info to gather, pictures to take, details to iron out, and hopefully back in late October with a building crew.
More on that later, but if you know anyone who's ready for a mission trip, either alone, as a couple, or as a family, keep watching for more information. We're going back primarily to renovate and add on to a girls' home and another building, but we'll also need people to play with the kids too.
My mind is settled and peaceful, just like it always is when I know I'm doing something God has clearly laid on my heart. Everyone needs someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to. This week, I've got all three and feel extremely blessed.
I'm appreciative of all your prayers, because I was called early to the window, did not need every piece of paperwork that was requested on the website, and after a nice lunch date with Terry and wandering around the Phipps Plaza (a bit deserted), at 3:12 pm today I got the visa that will allow me to travel back and forth for the next 10 years. The 3:12 is significant because both Terry and I were raised in homes with addresses of 312. We're sentimental saps, so every cause for celebration is seized with enthusiasm. The dark chocolate Reeses peanut butter cups tasted extra good today!
We left Buckhead about 3:30-ish, and the drive home was easy and traffic-free. Oh yeah, since this week is "no toll" week, we breezed right through the toll gates both going and coming! Nice little extra serendipity.
Since I'm all packed...yes, really, down to my vitamins and Max-GXL...I can make a scrumptious dinner for my hubby and we can relax and enjoy our last evening together for the next 10 days.
I would appreciate prayers for more smooth journeys...flying out of Atlanta tomorrow afternoon with a couple hours in Miami, then on to Salvador...few minutes on the ground and finally to Recife. Drew (good friend for the last 20 years...helped me with the adoption of Caroline and Alan) will pick me up and we'll drive a couple hours to Joao Pessoa, my home base for the next 10 days. Lots of info to gather, pictures to take, details to iron out, and hopefully back in late October with a building crew.
More on that later, but if you know anyone who's ready for a mission trip, either alone, as a couple, or as a family, keep watching for more information. We're going back primarily to renovate and add on to a girls' home and another building, but we'll also need people to play with the kids too.
My mind is settled and peaceful, just like it always is when I know I'm doing something God has clearly laid on my heart. Everyone needs someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to. This week, I've got all three and feel extremely blessed.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
on the road again...
Ok, so not quite yet, but in less than a week, I'll be in Joao Pessoa, Brazil, one of my favorite places on this earth. I know I'm called to minister to the orphans and I love that calling.
Having adopted and raised 14 internationally adopted orphans, my calling kept me at home for most of their childhoods. I loved that too. For a couple years, I did teach elementary school, but once the children began arriving (4 by birth also), I was so thrilled to be able to be a stay-at-home mom so I didn't have to miss any of the fun! Yes, it was fun! I have to admit, I've never had a "terrible two"...I always called it the terrific twos because I was having such a good time. How is it that no matter what I'm writing or thinking about, it always comes back around to my kids??? Guess that's where my heart's always been.
But, back to the trip. Hopefully all my paperwork will be proper and acceptable when I have my appointment at the Brazilian consulate in Atlanta on Wednesday...because Thursday I leave! So, I'd appreciate everyone's prayers for things to go smoothly because there is no margin for error!
This trip is somewhat exploratory, though I've been to Brazil many times and this particular lovely place a couple times. There is a girls' home that needs updating, renovations and additions, so my "job" is to take pictures, measurements, interview Marta, who runs this home, and find out exactly what needs to be done. I'll then bring all this info back home to our church, The Red Sea, and recruit some men who will go back with me in October to do the building. Though I've led quite a few tours, beginning in high school when I worked for a travel agency, I've not done a builders tour, so this is new territory for me. But as Terry always says, "since when did that stop her?" I'm just naive enough to jump in with both feet and think I can do anything! Of course one of my favorite verses is "with God, all things are possible." (Mark 10:27)
For today, that's all, because there is last-minute shopping to do, packing to organize, and writing homework to finish before I leave. Thank you for praying with/for me as I make the final preparations for this trip.
Having adopted and raised 14 internationally adopted orphans, my calling kept me at home for most of their childhoods. I loved that too. For a couple years, I did teach elementary school, but once the children began arriving (4 by birth also), I was so thrilled to be able to be a stay-at-home mom so I didn't have to miss any of the fun! Yes, it was fun! I have to admit, I've never had a "terrible two"...I always called it the terrific twos because I was having such a good time. How is it that no matter what I'm writing or thinking about, it always comes back around to my kids??? Guess that's where my heart's always been.
But, back to the trip. Hopefully all my paperwork will be proper and acceptable when I have my appointment at the Brazilian consulate in Atlanta on Wednesday...because Thursday I leave! So, I'd appreciate everyone's prayers for things to go smoothly because there is no margin for error!
This trip is somewhat exploratory, though I've been to Brazil many times and this particular lovely place a couple times. There is a girls' home that needs updating, renovations and additions, so my "job" is to take pictures, measurements, interview Marta, who runs this home, and find out exactly what needs to be done. I'll then bring all this info back home to our church, The Red Sea, and recruit some men who will go back with me in October to do the building. Though I've led quite a few tours, beginning in high school when I worked for a travel agency, I've not done a builders tour, so this is new territory for me. But as Terry always says, "since when did that stop her?" I'm just naive enough to jump in with both feet and think I can do anything! Of course one of my favorite verses is "with God, all things are possible." (Mark 10:27)
For today, that's all, because there is last-minute shopping to do, packing to organize, and writing homework to finish before I leave. Thank you for praying with/for me as I make the final preparations for this trip.
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