Arriving in Nairobi

After more than 29 hours of travel time, we have safely arrived in Nairobi and are getting ready for bed at Mayfield Guest house.  We are tired, but feeling good about our travels.  The girls did great, even recieving complement for their behavior on two of the flights.  Everyone in customer relations was both kind and helpful all the way across the world.  So with feeling good about our travels and in the center of what God has for us now, we will be off to bed.  Pray the girls sleep long and hard!  They need it and so do we.

In the love of the Savior we serve,

John, Becky, Ruthie, and Gracie

Finding your way Home

Our house is nearly bare tonight, with only a few assorted belongings left, including mattresses on the floor for sleeping. Yesterday we hauled several loads over to my mother's house for storage, with our washer, dryer, and refrigerator being the biggest items.  Moving all of these things has been unsettling for the girls, and we have noticed Ruthie and Gracie struggling some with their emotions.  Yesterday, Ruthie started a new game.  She came up to me and said, playfully, "Daddy, Daddy, I can't find my home! Can you help me find my way home?" I jumped up and said, "Why of course I can sweetheart. I can help you find your way home!" and away we went, searching through the mostly empty house, around the rooms and in and out of the bathroom until we arrived back in the living room where I announce, "We are here! We found it!" Ruthie jumped down and said, "My home!" and proceeded to go off and play contentedly, as a child would, while I was left to ponder the game. 

Ruthie has noticed everything leaving, and she is not quite sure what to make of it all. She knows we are moving to Kenya. She says to people all the time “We are moving to Africa”, but in her three-year-old mind, she does not know what moving to Africa really means.  She knows we are excited, and she is trying to be excited also, but at the same time, she is feeling a little lost. Now, even her home does not feel like home anymore. 

Do you ever feel that way, like you need to find home? For us believers, we are on a journey to our home, and we will not complete that journey until this life is over. But, as believers in Jesus Christ, we know where our home is located, heaven, and how to get there, by grace through faith in Jesus.  For the lost, they are like Ruthie, they can't find their home and they need some help.  

In the midst of the business and tiredness and emotions of packing and saying goodbyes and preparing to leave, these thoughts were comforting to me, good reminders of why we go to Africa. Some of us, the believers, know where home is and how to get there, we just haven't arrived yet.  Others are lost and do not yet know the way home, and they need help fining the narrow path. We go to help the lost find their way home... their way to the Savior... their way to peace with God and eternal rest. We are all on a journey to find our way home.  How are you doing on your journey home? 

In the love of the Savior we serve, 

John for Becky, Ruthie, and Gracie

Saying goodbye to our swings.

The Myricks and their seven 50 lb bags!
Shirts by Amy Downey.  We LOVE them!!!