Week 23 & 24 - Whirlwind travel to be with family, Homesickness & Home

I'm combining 2 weeks of updates...

Returning to the USA

After many requests through several clearance levels associated with missionaries leaving the "mission boundaries" for a special reason, we were granted home-leave privileges. 

Our first stop was Phoenix, AZ.  We were able to spend a few days with our oldest son and his family.  It was great to see how much everyone has grown in the past 5 months we have been gone.  The kids are out of school for summer break and the weather although hot, felt quite nice in comparison to our humid Ghana weather! ;)  We went up into the mountains for a day, to explore, hike and spend some good quality time together.  We miss these adventures with family!

We were also able to spend time with our youngest son.  He just moved to Arizona  mid May and is still getting settled.  It was fun to see his new area and get a feel for his local shopping and recreational/fishing/hiking spots!  He is now settling in and  trying to embrace the heat!  Whoa hot!!  The heat index has been dangerously high!

Next stop was Seattle to see our 2nd son and family.  Baby #6 arrived without incident and I was honored to be there to share in the experience.  Our sweet daughter-in-law's mother has recently had some serious health challenges, so when asked if I'd like to come lend a hand, it was a no-brainer!  It is such a special time when a new little one arrives fresh from heaven. 💜

We had lots of fun adventures with the kids while waiting for the baby to arrive!

    

  

In trying to get back to Accra, I could not secure any flights from Seattle.  So, I did a quick stopover in SLC and then routed out through JFK to Accra on the return.  It was a whirlwind time at the house with some shopping to get "treats & needed items" to take back with me as well as bringing back some office supplies and other things senior missionaries wanted/needed.  I hauled back 3 suitcases filled to the brim!  It was like Christmas when we handed everything out!  Wish I could have visited with everyone while in town, but it was a fast turn around with little time to play.  

HOMESICK 

Returning "home" from Africa for a brief moment in time, being with family and feeling the pangs of missing them, was not easy.  But what I did realize during and after the fact, is that we are where we should be in life right now, doing what we should be doing.  It definitely isn't easy being away from our children and grandchildren for 18 months.  We will miss many highlights in their lives and only get pictures or videos from time to time.  But we feel peace and confidence in the consecrated service we are giving here in Africa. 

We also believe and know that many blessings come as a result of this consecrated service.  And I have let Heavenly Father know I want all the blessings to go to our children and grandchildren!!  We are doing this for them.  We may be few, but we are STRONG!!! 💓 💓 💓 💓 💓 💓 💓 💓 💓 💓 💓 💓 💓 💓 💓 💓 💓 (represents our family #'s)   

"A Yearning for Home" Marvin J. Ashton Oct 1992

"If he could have his way, Satan would distract us from our heritage. He would have us become involved in a million and one things in this life—probably none of which are very important in the long run—to keep us from concentrating on the things that are really important, particularly the reality that we are God’s children. He would like us to forget about home and family values. He’d like to keep us so busy with comparatively insignificant things that we don’t have time to make the effort to understand where we came from, whose children we are, and how glorious our ultimate homecoming can be!"

"I’ve come to see that being homesick isn’t all bad. It’s natural to miss the people you are closest to. It’s normal to long to be where you feel secure, where those you love have your best interests at heart. It’s understandable to want to return to the place where you learned how to walk and talk, where you felt loved even when friends turned away, and where you were accepted, regardless of the situation. There’s no place on earth that can take the place of a home where love has been given and received."

"To know who we are is important, but to know where we are in relationship to our earthly home and heavenly home is essential if we are to receive all the blessings our Father in Heaven has for those who love him and keep his commandments. Our eternal home is our ultimate destination. A proper yearning for home can prevent our getting lost in detours or paths that lead us away."

"...what really matters is a personal testimony of Jesus Christ, an understanding of who we are and what we’re doing here, and an absolute determination to return home."

See you ALL on the flipside in 384 days!  But who's counting?? 😁