Think About It

Haley has been traveling for the last three days, and we are praising the Lord tonight that she has arrived safely back in the United States of America!!  She texted and called a couple quick times throughout the day today, and interestingly enough, Kelsey and Keaton were there to answer the phone when it would ring instead of me, so it was fun for them to be able to talk with her a little bit.  Evidently the C-trippers' flights got a little mixed up, and they had to sprint through the Atlanta airport in an effort to catch their flight to Dallas, but all was well. 

Then the shuttle that was supposed to take them to Global's headquarters in Garden Valley, Texas, was broken down, so they got to ride in a really nice big bus instead along with a group of kids who were coming back from Australia.  Once she was situated for her two-hour ride, she called, and we got to talk for nearly an hour!!!  Nothing else mattered around here at that moment, and it was so incredibly good to connect. 

I wish I could say that everything was perfectly fine, but to be honest, she was exhausted and feeling very overwhelmed.  First of all, her body was telling her it was 4 a.m., and she'd had very little sleep in the last couple of days.  Her last shower had been on Saturday, and it wasn't exactly the type of shower that she will enjoy once she gets back home.  Her wavering voice told me that she could burst into tears at any given moment, and basically she was just ready to be back home. 

Don't get me wrong.  She had an amazing time and cannot wait to tell us all about her experiences and adventures.  We saved those stories for when she can share them with all of us.  Instead, I did my best to catch her up on what's been going on around here.  Not knowing how long we would be able to talk, we talked about some of the big stuff first:  her role as a swim captain and the events that are already occurring, swim season officially starting next week, back to school the next, whether or not to graduate early, her two jobs that she held before she went, the vehicle swaps that have been occurring around here, Heath going back to school this fall, and Grandpa's health.  I had been attempting to keep her updated with daily messages, but evidently our messages did not get through to her when she was in Zambia.  We had a LOT to catch up on! 

As we worked our way through all those topics, I could hear some anxiety in her voice several times.  Slowly but surely, I was able to reassure her that life will fall back into place just as God intends it to, and it will all work out okay.  We just need to take one day at a time and trust that He will work out every single detail in His timing.  By the time we were finished talking, she was a lot calmer, was laughing, and even introduced me to a couple of her friends and let me talk to them.  Supposedly we're going to adopt her friend Ashlynn, a/k/a "Cho," from North Carolina into our family.  Combine her and the 18 African orphans, plus our French "daughter," Charlene, who Harris informed me he'd adopt in a heartbeat, and I'm thinking we could become quite the cultured bunch around here!  (Charlene called yesterday and talked with most of us, and it was so fun to hear from her!!)

But seriously, as I was working on painting Haley's bathroom tonight, I couldn't help but think about what it will be like for her to come back to her life here and would covet your prayers on her behalf.  Think about it!

* Over the course of the next few days and months and probably longer, she'll be bombarded with the question of "How was your trip?" and she'll somehow need to find the words to sum up two months' worth of God-directed, life-changing moments into a nice little summary or else need to be willing to answer questions for hours.

* She will have seen extreme poverty and will come back to a nation of materialistic people who can never get enough.  As Harris said, much grace will be required. 

* She will be surrounded by people who do not know the Lord, and now she will need to figure out how to live amongst them and witness to them without being labeled some kind of Jesus freak. 

* She'll hit the pavement running when it comes to being thrown into her role as one of the swim team captains.  No rest for the weary. 

* Her body will need to adjust back into some sense of normalcy, and her stomach will hopefully welcome American food again. 

* She's been living in winter conditions, and her skin will be white compared to all her friends who probably have a beautiful tan from being at the pool all summer.  She'll come from 20-degree nights where she huddled together with her friends in a tent to keep warm to 100+ degrees Texas heat where they have no AC in the dorms.  Then she can come home to a nice comfortable, normal temp at home!

* She will have missed out on all kinds of social activities back home and will need to jump back into her friendships.  Instead of knowing their inside jokes, the horror stories and the miracles that she experienced instead will be flashing through her mind.  She'll need to find common ground with them again. 

* She'll be leaving a whole bunch of new friends who have become family to her for the past two months.  She's very thankful for Facebook! 

I think the hardest part is where does she go from here?  She's now had the trip to Africa that she's always dreamed of having!  Will she go back?  Will God ever call her there full-time?  She'll now need to face the next chapter of her life, whatever that may be.  It's a little daunting for her to think about.  Going to Africa has been her life for so long, and now it's over!  At least for now. 

Pray with me, would you?  Thank you so very much!