Day 32 & 33

Oops…completely forgot to post yesterday.  It was a long nine hour drive – a total of eleven hours on the road – so I’ll use that as an excuse.  Especially because I (Lisa) drove Salt Lake City to Nampa, Idaho non-stop.  Five hours.  Yessssss.

Yesterday morning we finally got to SEE Moab, UT, where we had overnighted, but since we didn’t arrive until 11pm, we didn’t actually see the landscape.  It was gorgeous.  And if I had my camera cable, I would show you pictures.  In the words of my son, “maybe later.”  The red rock and amazing formations could not be captured in a picture, though.  And the gorgeous sunny day was a perfect compliment.

We drove four hours to Salt Lake City where we met an old friend of mine from school for a quick lunch.  It was neat to catch up with her and talk about the beauty of Salt Lake City.  We did a quick detour into the city to drive around the Mormon Temple (wow – pics to come later) and then back to highway.

Five hours later we landed in Nampa, ID, which is like our second home.  At least it feels like home…this is our third time here in 13 months, so it was nice to finally be on familiar territory and weird to think that our next two drives will be four hours and then we’ll be back in Auburn/Tacoma.

We arrived just before nine and are staying with old family friends of mine.  They were wonderful enough to accept us into their home at last minute!  Levi loved the plethora of toys they have in a special room just for their grandchildren, so he feels right at home there.

This morning we had a quick morning at home and were off to MAF headquarters.  We visited many people we’ve gotten to know over the months with this organization and got tours of the planes currently out in the hanger being repaired/updated to be sent out into the field.  Now we’ve set up camp in the break room/chapel area and I am finally writing to YOU.  Levi is sleeping in the nursery room they have here, complete with portable baby monitors.  Amelia took her nap in there earlier.  Have we mentioned how wonderful MAF is as an organization?  They are fantastic and if anyone is looking to get into worldwide missions, we highly recommend them!

Today we discovered that a few more people have jumped on board as monthly partners – so amazing and a huge blessing!!!  The one time gifts are equally necessary and just as awesome!  Thank you!  We are now at 75% and so close, it feels almost real.  Today we talked with the travel department and she anticipates that we’ll have our visa applications ready to turn in by early next week.  The first step with the DR Congo is a letter of invitation, so we have to wait for that, but we’ll be ready when it comes!  Are you wanting to partner with us?  Go HERE to give online or send a check to MAF, Attn: Donor Services to PO Box 47, Nampa, ID 83653 with LIND – 8806 on the memo line so that it all goes to our account.

Tomorrow: Chapel at MAF HQ and off to our first and last stop on our road trip…