If you hang around our family for more than a couple of hours, you’re sure to hear a reference to “our trip to the States.”  We’re pretty excited about coming back from October to February of this year.  The kids foresee nothing but amusement parks, trips, grandparent love, eating out, and snow.  It won’t be quite like that, but we will attempt to pack in plenty of Stateside-only experiences. Right now, we are all six in a period of contentment here in Peru, so the visit is exciting without being a temptation to escape or stay permanently.  I pray it will stay that way.

Our main wish for our time home is encouraging time with the people we love and the grace to laugh when not every moment is precious.

There are a hundreds of other little heart’s desires like:

a slow, taking-it-in-through-every-sense walk through Central Market

roughly 16 gallons of Chuy’s queso

time to pray with Lana Wisenbaker and hear her teach

about 3 hours without kids to check out every aisle of Target– what have they been up to without me?

time to cook and talk about food with my two sisters-in-law

some BSF

a walk through the leaves in the greenway with my dad

being able watch our kids and their grandparents enjoy one another

Some practical things that maybe you, blog reader, can help with:

We are praying about where to live.  One lovely person has offered us her abode, but that would mean kicking her out of her house for four months.  Do you know of a cheap furnished home we could rent or a family who needs extended housesitting?

We are looking for a car to drive.

We would love to attend some kind of spiritual retreat for families, ideally for missionary families.  Do you know of such a thing?

Would you pray for our time at home to bless many?  Would you pray for wisdom for our kids’ schooling while we’re in the States?  Would you pray for an ability for everyone to process the flood of emotions that will surely barrage us? Would you pray for the protection of our hearts?

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  We look forward to seeing you.