Yesterday marked one year since we boarded the plane in Dallas and flew to Peru. Our family celebrated with pizza and chocolate cake and thanking God for all that we’ve learned in the last year.

Allison dishing out some cake!

The unworthy recipients.

One thing I have learned is that, for a lot of missionaries, including the ones writing this blog, there is a small cloud of temptation hovering on the horizon to “chuck it all and go home.” There are many things we miss and life is just so much more comfortable in the States. Things are hard, we’re not adjusting to the culture, we don’t want to deal with a situation, the family feels stressed, and I think, “We could just go back to our old lives.” I forget that there were stresses and things I didn’t want to face back home too. I don’t forget that God called us here, but sometimes I wonder, “When will we know if we’ve done all we were called to do here?”

Some of our friends have had really tough health situations and they are going home, after much prayer (we think they should). Their leaving has made the temptation seem more real—you can just tie up all your loose ends and get on a plane. But it also highlights the pressure we are under, how the accuser of the brothers would love for all of us to just throw in the towel when things get tough. In your hard places, too, he wants you to stop trying. Please pray for our family and for all the missionaries your support and love to have perseverance and to hear the siren call of our chosen country rather than our birth country.