A Goodbye, A Hello and Some Stuff In Between

We did it. We got on the plane and made our way all the way to warm and sunny SE Asia. The last few days in cold and cloudy Ohrid were every bit of cold and cloudy. It was tough.  We spent every minute we could with the people we love there. It was precious and sweet. Hard, but sweet.

We packed and packed and packed. And this is our junk that we felt like had to come with us.  It's no joke leaving a place you have lived for 9 years and having no where, like your parents' attic, to store anything. EVERYthing had to either be given away or get packed in our 3 cubic meters (100 cubic feet).  It was tedious, and I'm telling you, if you are looking for a good way to organize and downsize your life, this is the way. Just move to another continent. That'll do it. And we did it. We got 9 years worth of baby blankets and sweet baby clothes and souvenirs from Europe and books and toys and toys and toys and shoes and purses and more junk than I ever thought we could possibly own... down to this. It was every bit as icky and awful as it sounds. Praise God it is over!!!

Five days before we left, we threw a massive party and invited nearly everyone we had ever gotten semi-close to. 

We danced the Oro, shared our hearts, and gave out a lot of Bibles and giant hugs.  

We spoke words of truth and words of love, words that probably offended many, but words that give life to all.  It was good.

Brian told stories of our early days there when we learning language and culture, and he had the crowd laughing over some of our early mistakes.  

Bless this child who by some miracle made it through the whole party but only because lots of people who adore him took turns chasing him and feeding him and giving him lots of attention. 

Kate and Thomas had lots of friends to dance and run around with.  

 They had a blast. 

 We all had a blast.  It was sweet. 

We said goodbye to some of our favorite people and places in the world and to a view like this. We cried with our sweet Kate who asked if we could stop saving money for Disney World and start saving money to come back to Ohrid for vacation.  Bless her heart.

We drew closer as a family as all our hearts broke together.  

We said goodbye to these precious people and many more like them--people who took us in as their own, people who loved us and laughed with us and cried with us. People who taught us about their culture, people who let us in, people we did life with day in and day out. We're gonna miss them!

Our sweet church in Ohrid had a special service for us with words of encouragement and thankfulness from its members and members from other churches in Macedonia.  We sang our favorite songs to Jesus in the heart language of those precious people and I praised God for allowing me to hear that sweet sound in Ohrid, a place that didn't ring with His praises when we arrived. 

I kept telling Brian "I don't think I can do this." And we both felt like we were walking through some sort of awful dream for days, but we did it.  We felt the presence of our Lord in very real ways.  As we drove out of Ohrid, there was peace in the pain.  It was a peace that can only come from God.  Sweet all-surpassing peace knowing that He was with us. The One who called us is indeed faithful! I checked my fb on the trip out of Ohrid, and realized that our good and kind God was waking people in America up, out of sleep, to pray for us, to intercede for us and to battle for us. Y'all He is SO GOOD! And some of you got up and prayed, and then let me know you were praying. It was balm to my heart! Thank you!!!    

We made it through a delicious lunch with our team--our second family--with laughter. We didn't touch the topic that it would probably be the last lunch all together at the same table before heaven. We just enjoyed one another around a beautiful feast.  And then we cried as we held hands and prayed together.  Tight hugs and bitter tears, but tears that I am so thankful for. OH! I am thankful for the deep love we have for one another.  I am thankful that it was hard to say goodbye. It is only proof of our bond and anchored love in Christ. To God be the glory for those deep relationships that taught me so much about the Body or Christ and that reflected Him to others in Macedonia.  

And we did the thing I didn't think we could do because His grace is sufficient, His power perfected in our weakness. With smiles and excited hearts, we got on the plane--in our snow boots. The kids did great on the plane.  They slept good on the 10-plus hour flight and sat like little angels on the shorter flights. Some of you were praying, weren't you?! Thank you!

From snow boots to flip-flops and goosebumps to beads of sweat, we arrived in our new home.

There was a stocked fridge and cabinets, a goody basket and a homemade cake waiting for us. The people here have loved on us and fed us delicious meals and spent time showing us around.  B is doing a great job of driving on the left-hand side of the road, and I am doing a good job of keeping my mouth shut as he drives. The kids are loving their new summer wardrobe. K starts school in two days. She met her teacher today and she can't wait to get started.  

I have learned so much through this process. I could write a novel (I guess I kinda have), but the one thing that remains here or there is that He is good, and He knows how to give good gifts to his children.