Home Sweet Home

Okay, I know this is long overdue. We have been back in the US for two and a half weeks now. Here's a recap of our goodbye to Peru, our travels, and being immersed again to life in the US. It has been great!!

During our last few weeks in Peru we spent time selling kitchen and other items that we bought there, saying goodbyes, spending extra time with our friends, contemplating fitting all our other items in eight suitcases and two carry-ons, and beginning to salivate over the fajitas and Chick-fil-A we would soon consume. We enjoyed dinner out with the Sandersons, a cookout with our MTW team, and a party at La Fuente with cake and the clinic staff our last day in Cusco. In the pictures below you can see the three Peruvian nurses, Nancy, Margarita, and Yasmin in the front. Greg Sanderson, whose role was Evangelism and Discipleship at the clinic, is in the navy jacket. And the doctors (in the back, left to right) are Bill Allen, Anjanette Williamson, and Jen and Derick Brubaker. What a great team!

Our journey back to Texas was about 19 hours long but thankfully involved no time changes. The highlights were Papa Johns pizza for dinner in the Lima airport and only paying $31 in baggage fees. I am pretty sure Luke ate an entire personal pizza on his own that evening.

The lowlight of the trip was the 4 hour flight delay on our flight that was scheduled to leave Lima at 11pm. The result of this was a brief 1030 pm nap and 330 am bedtime for Luke. Bedtime is usually 7 pm. I am not sure that mom and dad ever really slept. We made it though and were greeted by the smiling, picture taking Barkers and Adams just outside customs at the Lima airport. What a sweet reunion!!

We spent our first few days back relaxing at the Barkers' lakehouse. After 10 months of life revolving around rainy and dry seasons we needed to quickly immerse Luke into summer in Texas. That meant lots of time roaming around in a diaper, swimming, taking boat rides, and playing with cousins (in the bath of course!!). We then headed to Dallas to "move in" with the Adams for part of the summer. Muggy graciously did lots of babsitting while we house hunted. We found a house and are under contract!! We watched the Crew boys play baseball, ate lots of Mexican food, and enjoyed family. We made another trip to the lakehouse last weekend for a small group reunion with dear friends from North Carolina (who are now scattered all over the US). Now we are back in Houston with the Barkers for a couple weeks before Greg starts his fellowship July 1.

We can hardly believe that our time in Peru is over; a bittersweet reality for sure. However, we cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for our family as we begin a new stage of life back in the US. God bless!