We recently returned from a 3-week, 3410-mile journey through 7 states. It was part business trip, part homeschool education trip, and all adventure. God blessed us with good weather and no car trouble!
Our first big commitment was a debriefing that our home church sent us to in Colorado. We drove to Denver a couple days early, where we spent a day with Kaylee's brothers, then visited Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.
The debriefing was 5 days at a mountain retreat center and run by an organization called Mission Training International. It was a great location, very peaceful. Just the sort of place that a bunch of frazzled missionaries need! ;)
We spent our time with missionaries from all different organizations, different countries, different ministries, different denominations. The one thing that tied us all together was the fellowship of being cross-cultural ministers.
The program is a carefully designed combination of structured sessions and free time. Subjects that we covered included: transition, stress, sacrifice, and the need for rest, rest, rest. We shared our experiences and hurts and joys and struggles. The kids were in their own classes, talking about the same issues, in an age-appropriate way.
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| Kaylee and I instigated a couple of bonfire nights that were a great opportunity to tell stories and get to know each other better |
We came away from the week with a new desire to not only survive our ministry, but be a blessing to others so that they will survive theirs.
Following the debriefing, we took a couple days to travel across Kansas to Missouri, stopping at two of Laura Ingalls Wilder's houses along the way. Kaylee and the girls have been using her books as literature/history/home-ec class as they homeschool and it was a fun way to bring her story to life.
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| Cabin reproduction on the Little House on the Prairie homestead in Independence, Kansas |
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| The house where Laura and Almanzo lived out their years in Mansfield, Missouri |
Our main purpose in going to Missouri was to return to the training center where we spent 2.5 years preparing to be cross-cultural missionaries and talk to the new students about the work in Bolivia.
It was fun to show the girls around the area that was such a big part of our lives and where Anne and Addi were born. Of course, we enjoyed the beautiful weather and the lake, too.
As we headed home, we took a slight detour to see Mt Rushmore!
Since returning, we have spent time with lots of people and I have had 2 more opportunities to talk about our ministry in Bolivia: at our Bible college and our home church. We have also made the most of fall in Montana, our favorite season!
