We are still alive and kicking...and having a pretty great time, actually! We have been silent because we have been busy. Packing and moving and traveling has left us with little time to hop on the computer.
**We made it out of M-ville okay. It actually went much better than we expected. We were so richly blessed with help from our teammates. We honestly could not have pulled off that feat without them. They helped pack, hung out with Little t (who adores time with them), fed us meals, helped with laundry, etc. Such a huge blessing.
**Our one hour flight to the capital turned into 5 1/2 hours as weather scrambled the flight schedule for the day. So we ended up making three extra stops. But Little t was in a great mood and we just went along for the ride and enjoyed seeing more of that amazing country that we have grown to love so deeply.
**We had good times in the capital with some very dear friends and felt good about closure to this period of time there. We are so blessed with some people in country who have invested deeply into us and we are encouraged by them each time we get together.
**I began to panic when we were in the capital because Little t started to get sick and then decided that sleeping at night was no longer a cool thing to do. I was suffering after a few nights of getting up every hour with him...and wondering what we were going to do for the next month of traveling...and really what we were going to do when the new baby comes. I forgot how wonderful it is to get a full night's sleep. I am whimpering even now just thinking about giving that up again... So, those few nights were slightly miserable, but we survived.
**We bumped up our flights out of the capital to Dubai and then onto to Thailand. We had finished all of our work early and decided to take a few days break here in Thailand before our meetings started instead of waiting around in the capital for those days. We were stoked that we got them switched for no charge. We got off the phone and excitedly checked the weather again...to see that it had changed to a 90% chance of snow the day we had just switched our flight to. We about cried.
**We were up at 4 am with all of our luggage As we loaded the car, huge flakes started to fall. After we had gone through the first half of the security checkpoints, we were standing in total white-out conditions...hearing a policeman tell us that our flight had been cancelled. We persisted, saying that we wanted to go to the ticketing desk to make sure. He let us and we went with a small hope. We checked in and waited, still doubtful. Not too long after, the snow stopped and the sky began to clear. Our flight left only a few minutes late and a few hours later we touched down in Dubai. We were giddy.
**We had a great few days in Dubai. We didn't do much at all; slept, walked, ate good food, watched movies, took it easy. Little t slept solid through the night both nights we were there and it was like the biggest gift in the world! We had a rental car and cranked up Dubai's hip hop station as we drove down 6 lane roads that snake through the desert. Dubai gets a bad rap, but we enjoy it. It is quiet and clean and we can relax. Yeah, there are bad aspects, but we have good memories there. It was a great start to our break.
**10 pm found us in the airport getting ice cream...and hearing our flight being called...an hour early. A.P. shook his head in wonder/frustration as we reminisced that the exact same thing happened on our flight from the States with my mom. Both times, we get Coldstone and hear our flight (that is 30 gates away) being called. Proceed to run with bags, and stroller, and kid and precious (and expensive) ice cream in order to catch the flight. This time, as luck would have itm we got to the gate and they had just opened it. So we sat around and finished our ice cream waiting to board the plane. A.P. swore we are ending that tradition...it only adds in stress and sweatiness and melted Coldstone ice cream to already exhausting travel experiences.
**We had talked up the flight to Little t as a time to sleep. It was through the night, after all. He had his p.j.'s on and was tired (seeing as it was nearing 4 HOURS past his bed time). But he got on the flight and would have none of it. Several times he was this close to falling asleep...but then a flight attendant would walk by! Or someone would sneeze! Or he would blink and wake himself up! It was pretty frustrating trying to keep him quiet and wanting to sleep so badly, but having to keep an eye on the little stinker. Finally, with an hour left, he fell asleep...and proceeded to sleep through deplaning, being put in his stroller, wheeled around the airport, the security check for the next flight, waiting in the lounge for 1/2 an hour, being taken out of his stroller, boarding the plane and all but the last 1/2 hour of the next 3+ hour flight. It was seriously amazing.
**Thailand is hot and sticky and awesome as usual. We had a few days in a guesthouse; eating good food, going on walks, going to a water park, sleeping. It was also a good time of rest.
**We are at a conference now that we have been looking forward to for a few years...quite literally. It is such a gift to be here. We are able to meet and study the Word with dear dear friends from around the globe. These are the kind of friendships that are deep and lasting. We don't see each other often, but our times together are really special. Studying Isaiah together, talking about life in hard contexts, enjoying good food, the kids playing together, just really rich times. We are very thankful. Thankful for a break before the intensity of returning to the States. Thankful for time with people who labor as we do and 'get it'. We are so thankful for this time and really soaking in the rest and rejuvenation that is coming with it.
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