We were warmly received by one of our partner churches upon our arrival in northern Virginia. They had planned their missions conference around our visit and we were looking forward to sharing several times Friday through Sunday. Putting us up in a 'clubhouse' near a playground the church let us know that we were appreciated as they gave us care packages including thoughtful things from legos and snacks to diapers and wipes. On Friday evening a dinner was planned. It was so great to see the Paraguayan and American Flags set on all the tables and even stuck in the cup cakes. Afterwards we shared our testimony of how God called us to Himself and ultimately to the Foreign Mission Field.
On Saturday evening I presented our Field Report to the church during which I spoke on Paraguay's culture, history, sang in Guarani and shared terere, a social drink, with the congregation. After taking a sip I offered the same cup and straw to the congregation when an elderly gentleman spoke up, apparently volunteering. He graciously accepted the terere when I offered it to him and drank the whole thing down. As he handed it back to me he explained that he hadn't volunteered himself but was merely commenting that he didn't want to catch hepatitis! Nevertheless I was later told that it was a great field report and I trust nobody got sick because of it. Afterward I had the opportunity to speak to the youth group. I shared that Christ's Church is global with 2/3rds of our Christian brothers and sisters being African, Asian and Latin American! I also shared that Christ commanded them to be involved in that Church, specifically by being active members in their local church- an important message that all youth need to hear today!
In addition to giving the morning message on Sunday and having an open Q&A time with the congregation we got a chance to speak to the kids at Awana. We had a blast simulating what it's like to have the lights go out during a huge rain storm (a regular part of Paraguay life), showing them the Paraguay flag, telling a missionary story and playing some fun songs that we sing in Paraguay. Monday we packed up and moved on to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Sarah asked me if I had planned this stop on our trip for myself or for the kids- a fair question. There we saw the Discovery Space Shuttle which in all it's missions logged an entire year in space- more than any other space craft. It still had burn marks on it from it's last re-entry!!! At the rear of the ship the kids stood under Discovery's huge thrusters and watched a video of it's final launch. We also saw historic aircraft like the fastest jet ever built- the SR-71 Blackbird. Sooooo coooool! The kids had fun too.
That evening we took a trip down memory lane and visited our previous Paraguay director and his wife, Paul and Becky. They were both teammates and mentors to us. It was so great to see them again and spend the night at their house which had many Paraguayan features. The next day we went up to Washington DC where we saw both historic landmarks and future Paraguay teammates for the first time! We walked from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial with our new friends who are appointees to Paraguay with SIM. While trying to carry on conversation and keep track of our six kids we only lost track of Judah once. Our kids ran past the WWII memorial and along the Vietnam memorial wall with their new friends- it was a unique day of looking back at our nations history and looking ahead to what God has in store for us in Paraguay.
From DC we moved on to Maryland where we met with more good friends and ministry partners. They hosted a small group presentation for us at their house where we got to meet some new people and share about what God is doing in Paraguay. Eli, Toby and I also got to go to a Toby Mac concert with our friends where daddy jumped while the boys plugged their ears. Our final destination brought us through a long tunnel under the Baltimore bay, across huge bridges, through New York City and onto Long Island. There we visited with good friends who have planted a church at the cross-roads of the world. We had opportunities to thank them and share about our ministry with many interesting people including a Chilean who referred to Paraguay as a sworn enemy in soccer! On the final night of our trip Toby and Judah caught the stomach flu and hardly slept. The next day, with buckets in their laps they piled in the van one last time. We headed home but, even with the boys being sick we couldn't justify passing by the Statue of Liberty. So we managed to stop and see one more historic landmark and the 9-11 memorial.
It was dusk when we came to a road that paralleled one of the Finger Lakes in the area that Sarah and I call 'home'. But this missionary road trip was a good reminder that the Finger Lakes aren't really our home anymore. We had met with many good friends and supporters because we are headed back to Paraguay. But ultimately, Paraguay isn't even our home- there is so much that feels familiar and unfamiliar about both worlds for us now. Our third-culture-kids who have grown up between these two worlds roll with the transitions so well. They seem to have no problem sleeping on someone else's floor, meeting new kids for the first time and then saying 'good bye' the next day and, even when they're throwing up, jumping back in the van for the umpteenth time without complaining. We get to see the World and the Body of Christ in ways that many don't- it's an incredibly hard and privileged life we live.
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