It was a long trip. But God brought us safely to our country again. Our trip started out a week ago when we left Salto, Uruguay. That was a sad day, when we said good-bye to so many dear friends. Then, we spent happy days with friends in Montevideo. We love the Parnells! God, bless them always... Then, on Tuesday afternoon we headed to the aeropuerto de Carrasco to check in our, ahem, 28 checked bags. We didn't get too many weird looks, but I did see a girl behind us counting them :). We had no problems checking in. At around 9, we got onto the plane. and sat. and sat some more. worked several sudoku puzzles. We taxied. Then, the pilot told us there were technical difficulties, so we would not be leaving that night. Swell. We had to "re-enter" Uruguay, and get our 28 bags back. Fun, fun. We didn't want to have to transport all that luggage again, so a couple of our "peeps" stayed with the luggage all.night.long while the rest of us got to go to a hotel. The next day, all over again! But God really was in control of our trip! Pretty much the rest of the trip went off w/o a hitch! God allowed our family of 7 to travel STANDBY from Montevideo, Uruguay to...somewhere in the Midwest! It was nothing short of a miracle and I'm very thankful for my friend, C*, who made it humanly possible. Thank YOU, God! Here on this end, my parents and a friend were at the airport to receive us. I would say that I am definitely experiencing some "culture shock". I know, that's shocking for those of you who have never lived out of the US, but it is definitely so. For example, everything is so neat and tidy. The stores are open 24/7. There is SO MUCH food! People are a little...um..*heavier :) We are looking forward to getting used to being home!
Just a normal day in January. Looking over Facebook before going to bed. Wait, I can't believe this...it can't be true... I learned last night before I went to bed (and before I cried tons) that a pastor we knew while we were in Uruguay was killed in a terrible motorcycle accident, leaving a young widow and 6 children. I am so sad. You never know what a day will bring forth. My prayer is that his death will bring glory to our God!
