A Whole Year Stateside

A year ago today we got on an airplane in Kinshasa to head back to the US. Since it takes two days, technically our anniversary of being in the US is tomorrow, but regardless, happy one year back!

In some respects, the last year has gone by so quickly, I’m still in a bit of denial. Our transition was nearly seamless and we feel quite at home here in Idaho, but there are still moments that I don’t feel fully grounded or like I know what I’m doing, culturally. However, for the most part, our life in Congo was a literal lifetime ago – different job, different home life, and, in just a few days or weeks, even a different number of children! It feels far away, but I still get warm, fuzzy memories of our life there and miss several aspects of it: our team, our Congolese friends, the chicken restaurant around the corner from our house…

At the moment, our focus is all about baby. More specifically, for me, it’s all about not being pregnant anymore. I’ve not had this level of discomfort (which, by evening, turns to outright pain) in my previous pregnancies. This, combined with the hot weather (hitting 100F/38C), makes me look forward to the combination of not being pregnant AND snuggling a new little person. Prayers for a boring and conventional delivery appreciated.

We’ve also been quite focused on the opening of the new business in Nampa, the escape room(s) and loving the community response. It’s been such a fun thing, even if I’m only able to participate from the sidelines. If you’re local, please go check it out!

And, Matthew and I still love keeping our proverbial foot in the door at MAF. Matthew was recently able to attend chapel after a few months of putting in every available hour at the job site. He enjoyed updates from regional directors and a retirement celebration of a good friend. The kids and I recently got the privilege and fun of helping out with a training exercise for the newest MAF families – and it was an excellent reunion with friends and brought back memories of our own training seven years ago!

Hopefully my next post will be a new baby announcement…soooooon!