Thankful to be here!

We arrived in Entebbe, Uganda around 1:00am so thankful for many of God's provisions along the way. This trip was one of our most pleasant traveling experiences to/from Uganda. At 2:30am local time as we were settling the children into their beds at the Airport Guesthouse, we took a brief time to thank God for his many graces to us throughout our trip. Then we fell into our beds. Here is a list of some of our thanks.

Me: Everyone traveled well and got a bit of rest. We didn't have much trouble checking our bags.
Esther: All of our bags arrived.
Zeke: I get to see Bobby tomorrow.
Ezra: We did not miss any off our flights.
David: We traveled with very little conflict among our family.
Elijah: I only threw up a little bit and felt better soon after.

I have recently been reading a devotional by Ann Voskamp based on her book, One Thousand Gifts: Reflections on finding everyday graces. I have been trying to be more intentional to thank God for his graces in the midst of situations that may even be a bit frustrating. Elijah was a great example of that last night, even though there may have been a hint of sarcasm in his voice. We joked that he bookended our furlough with vomit. Some of you may have heard the story of vomiting on a public bus during a layover in Italy after our first 24 hours of travel leaving Uganda. I will post that story at some point. On our return trip, the last leg of the journey from Ethiopia to Uganda was the one that put Elijah over the edge this time. During that last stretch of our journey, I read this verse.

"He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom and gently lead those that are with young." Isaiah 40:11 

I definitely have seen many ways in which God gently led us in the midst of our trip. Here is a brief recap of our travels. On Wednesday around noon we left Watkinsville, GA and drove toward the Atlanta airport. On our drive we talked as a family about some of our good memories on furlough and some of the things we are looking forward to back in Uganda. It was a pleasant drive with no bickering! What a blessing! We stopped for one last meal at Zaxby's and all thoroughly enjoyed it!

As we arrived at the international terminal, we found several blessings. The first was that a man who was there to assist with baggage helped us check in all of our luggage quickly and without any complications even though some items were slightly overweight. We had 3 extra "bags" but we were only charged for one of them.  And then we found that some friends from church were on the same flight traveling in the row ahead of us to Frankfurt, Germany! So many little graces.

On that first leg of our journey there was more turbulence than usual, but no one got sick. Zeke did jump a bit at the first big bump. He was sitting next to Esther, his "medium mom" who comforted him well.

The night was short, only a few hours of darkness since we were traveling east overnight, but everyone got at least a little rest. We landed in Frankfurt, and had Euros leftover from our layover on our way to the United States. Our Euros bought us a delicious breakfast and some much needed coffee before finding our way to our connecting flight. As we boarded the plane we realized that our flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia actually stopped in Jeddah, Saudia Arabia. The extra stop provided some time to rest without seat belts fastened. The next leg to Ethiopia was not nearly as full as the stretch to Saudia Arabia, so our family was able to spread out a bit in order to lie down to sleep. As we changed planes in Ethiopia, getting on to our plane going to Entebbe, Uganda, things began to feel more like we were coming home. Our flight was mostly filled with Africans, which somehow feels more normal to me these days. Also, Ugandans are some of the most friendly, hospitable people on this planet, I am sure. There were many more smiling faces and nice conversations on this last stretch even though this flight was 11pm-1am. When Elijah got sick, many people expressed their sympathy. I was happy to remember how much I love the Ugandan people.

As we arrived, we passed through immigration and customs without much delay, and found all of our baggage straight away. Our driver met us immediately as we walked out and our short drive to the guesthouse was uneventful. As we arrived at the guesthouse we had showers, and all the children went to sleep quickly. I woke this morning around 8am and found the rest of the family sleeping soundly. The guesthouse has a beautiful garden, a delicious breakfast, and friendly staff. I enjoyed some time to pray, read the Bible, walk around the garden and write until we woke the children around 11am.

I am so thankful they were all able to get some good rest. Around 9am, we got word that there was some confusion with our driver who was supposed to take us to GSF this morning, but the delay has provided more rest for the children, and a peaceful morning. Even during breakfast we have seen some of God's little graces to us. Ezra's toast flipped off his plate after being spread with jam, but it landed jam side up on his lap, preventing any big mess.

Now David is reading to the children while we wait. I am so thankful for God's gracious care for us in the midst of so much travel. Whether things go smoothly or with more difficultly God is graciously caring for us, his children. Thank you for your many prayers for us. It is my prayer that you will be able to see some of God's graces to you in the midst of your everyday life too.

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for His steadfast love endures forever."