Not Forgotten

Justin, Will and Shawn on the last
night together in Spain

Will and I have been in Spain for the past two weeks for our company-wide conference. It was an incredible time and refreshing in so many ways. What a gift it was to be around so many people who love the Lord and are serving Him all over the globe. We heard stories of heartache and stories of great rejoicing. We laughed, cried and ate way too much cheese and ice cream together. It was a beautiful time of being surrounded by the Body of Christ in a beautiful place.

Enjoying time with friends at the
conference!

While we were in Spain, Will and I were quickly reminded that the time there marked the end of our "displaced" period in a lot of ways. Ever since we had to evacuate from Mundri, we have been in a temporary location in hopes of getting back to South Sudan as soon as possible. In our last temporary location, Arua, we realized we would not be able to continue to pursue going back to South Sudan in this time because of the lack of stability, team, medical care, etc. Spain was the in-between before our next transition- expanding our family (delivering our first baby in Kenya) and moving to Fort Portal, Uganda.

Often, the reality of the "in-between" in our lives hits me when we're on an airplane. To me, it's the best representative of how I feel emotionally- stuck between two places. One season over and a new one just beginning.

While we were on the plane (which by the way, KLM is amazing and I wish we could fly with them every time we fly internationally!), I started to feel extremely emotional about the next steps in our lives. Reality finally caught up to me that giving birth in Nairobi means that so many of our family and friends will not be present for the birth or able to meet our daughter for several months. I started to feel lonely and sad about the reality of living across the world from loved ones.

Just went I really started to mope, our sweet flight attendant walked up to us with a gift. Yes, we were in the middle of the journey, with hundreds of other people on the flight and she had a gift for us. She said that KLM wanted to congratulate us on our upcoming birth. The gift was a cute bib and a "wishing bell". Attached to the bell was a card that read, "Together we have a great story to tell".

As you can imagine, given my emotional state before the kind gesture, my eyes immediately started to well up with tears as soon as she walked away. Embarrassed about my emotions, I looked up at Will thinking that he would poke fun of the fact that I was crying over an airline bib and a bell, but instead he said, "I get it, I'm feeling it too!"

Receiving this gift was a reminder to us that God has placed people all over the world to surround us in this crazy journey/ adventure He has us on. Whether we in the US, Africa, or flying in the middle of the sky, He has not forgotten us and He has brought people to come along-side us. It really was a great reminder to us that "together we have a great story to tell". Yes, there are time when that"'together" was with specific people that we miss doing life with, but either way, God has placed people in our lives to write great stories.

So, sitting in Nairobi, Kenya today, we are grateful. We're grateful that God has given us amazing people to do life with all around the world. We're grateful for my parents, who are coming to Kenya around my due date to hopefully meet their newest granddaughter and for Will's parents who will visit us a couple months after she is born to meet her and see our new home in Fort Portal. We're grateful for the community we have here in Nairobi and for the fact that we get to take a birthing class with good friends starting next week. We're grateful for the amazing people we were able to spend time with in Spain and for the ways God is working around the world. We're amazed by God provision of great people in our lives and by reminding us that we're not alone- even when we're flying miles and miles in the sky.