KONOMALA

Thank you so much to all of you who have continued to pray for us during this long trip back to our home away from home.
We’ve made it to the final leg of the journey. The flying is done, and now we’re back to the world of 4 wheels. In our case, 4 wheels with as many spares as we can attach to the truck. 
It was so much fun to taxi down the runway and see Luke & Ellenie and the boys there with signs and smiles. All of the kids lost their minds a little bit in excitement. They just started chasing each other in circles … maybe not the best thing to do next to an airplane, so we corralled the squirrels until we got away from the airport. 

The last few days have been busy getting prepped for moving back in to Konomala. We’ve been buying supplies and running around (like adult squirrels) trying to check everything off the lists. 

While us guys were in town the other day, we were walking into a hardware store and heard a PNG holler … it was our best friend, Michael, and a group of guys from Konomala. They are in town trying to straighten out a few things for our local community school. It was so fun to see them all again. They were all pretty hungry so we took them over to the solitary restaurant in town and got them all fried chicken and french fries. It was hilarious seeing a couple of the guys try to figure out the right way to eat it all. They had never eaten in a restaurant before (let alone fried chicken). So there I was explaining what ketchup is, how to open the little packet, and which food to eat it with. “Yep, that’s chicken; and yep, those are actually potatoes. It’s all just fried.” It didn’t take long though and the guys had finished every crumb of food.
So funny. 

So here we go!
We’re heading down to the end of the road (literally, not figuratively). After about 8 hours, we’ll need a chiropractor adjustment because of the potholes, but we’ll be home. Then it’s back to the grind of learning language and trying to understand culture.
It’ll be good to be back at it again. It’s going to take time to get back into any kind of rhythm and feel like we’re making any progress. It’ll come with time though. Every day we have to re-set our minds on truth and remember the bigger perspective. The day to day is a grind. That’s when we have to remember the hope that’s coming and that each little moment is seen by our Heavenly Father. He’s right there with us and His grace is so sufficient in everything.

Please Pray 

That the trip down to Konomala goes well. Our two families will be packed in like sardines.
So pray that the kids all do well … and that all of the parents do well.
That the road is in good enough shape.
That the truck runs like it should.
That there wouldn’t be too many nails in the road … flat tires are no fun.

That the transition back into normal Konomala life would go well.
That we would be patient, gracious, and loving to each other as a couple, as parents, and as friends.
That we will be able to pick up where we left off almost a year ago with friendships, language, and culture.

That we would grow in our faith and grow closer to Jesus each little step of the way.
That we would train and disciple our kids with grace, truth, and purpose. 
That we would be faithful brothers, sisters, and co-heirs with each other.