Days 84-88: Buena Vista, CO

I wrote this post last night, hoping to post it earlier today, but didn’t get a chance…so the language is ever so slightly out of date…but anyway…

Our time in the mountains of Colorado was awesome.  We had a relaxing time, even though we did more than originally planned.  But overall it was really fun.  Here are some highlights…

Thanks to a facebook post about where we were, we were able to reconnect with one of Matthew’s oldest friends, who he hadn’t seen in about eight years (though I’d seen her more recently) and we got to meet her husband and adorable baby.  They  were two hours away, so we met in the middle for lunch.

The following day, thanks to a blog post about being in CO, we met up with some friends of ours from Alaska who also changed careers to being full time missionaries using airplanes to reach isolated people, but all within Alaska.  They, too, are traveling the country, raising awareness and support.  Her husband was out of town, so just us ladies and the kiddos met, again half way between our two-hour distance apart.  It was so awesome to swap notes and experiences, and encourage each other in this process.  Plus, it was fun to see their four kids and how much they’ve grown – they’d never met Amelia either!

Matthew was able to take care of tasks for my aunt, as well, as she settles into full time Colorado living – she’s summered in this house for quite a few years, but just moved here full time two weeks ago!  Matthew’s skills at taking care of engines to fix her snow blower to make it ready to sell, and helping her take care of some unwanted house guests, came in handy as well.  Today he was fixing her wood pile and I came out to help him as he was finishing to put the tarp over it.  Of course, he began commenting how he was grateful he hadn’t been bitten by anything sorting through old wood…but before he could finish his sentence, I got bit by a mean ant!  Ah well…far less painful than the dreaded army ants in Congo!

A neighbor has built a mine in his basement for kids to experience, so Levi mined for a few coins and had fun doing so.  The kids also went on a “bear hunt” in the neighborhood, but thankfully only found a lot of friendly dogs and some cool fishing ponds.

Spending the last four days at 9000 feet has been a fun experiment for me – my lungs are already super compressed deep into my chest cavity thanks to a particularly wiggly tiny person, so adding ridiculously thin air was a sure way to have fun for a few days.  I’ll be grateful to be breathing more oxygenated air this weekend!

Meanwhile, we are anticipating a busy busy weekend – Friday evening presentation, and a church with a Saturday night and three Sunday morning services, all of which are opportunities to share about God’s work in Congo and how He is using us there!  The following week will find us throughout Arizona (state number 36, if you’re counting), then just one more full week spent in California and driving toward a weekend with plans still in the air, and then we’re DONE.  We’ll be in Idaho for the next five months!

But, we’re not looking to the end with great longing (usually)…but rather, taking each day and each opportunity to share about our ministry with prayer, consideration, and energy toward each moment.