I have one more wall!

It's late. My eyes are burning from a long day of travel and of many tears. Having moved many a time in my life, I tend to switch off emotionally when saying good-bye. Yet I get to these points when reality hits and the tears won't stay away. That was me, last night, after packing...

Nan picked Danette and I up from home and took us to the airport. (I had asked that no-one come to the airport because that just makes leaving really hard!) We had an uneventful flight to Chicago, then to LAX. Took some fu shots of the Rockies and of the Grand Canyon. God is SO creative!

It was fun pointing out the different LA sights to Sean, a little Malaysian Chinese boy who sat next to me, by the window, as well as to Danette. "See that hill over there, beyond the LA skyline? Look closely. It's the Hollywood sign." After getting our luggage, we picked up a rental car and had to nix any plans to take a detour. We were running late and even on a Sunday afternoon, there was bumper-to-bumper traffice on I-405N (to Santa Monica.) We headed south instead, to the hotel where Danette's meeting is this week. After a brief detour through Long Beach and a stop at Baja Fresh (yum! Authentic Californian Mexican food!) we drove straight to Dana Point, where I dropped Danette off and headed north on I-5, then 57 to Glendora. (This road takes you past Disneyland and the Angels Stadium. It was fun to drive on these too familiar roads again.)

It was wonderful to see the Clarks--the family with whom I stayed for 2 years while doing graduate studies. They're like family to me, and they had invited a bunch of my friends to come see me--mostly students who had been on my Mozambique teams ('03 and '04) and some other friends. It was an incredible treat to visit with everyone and catch up!

From this group of friends came commitments to cover one entire wall in my hut! I praise God for that and am so very thankful for every single person who is part of this journey...

Now it's late. It's only 11:13 LA time, but we're two hours behind Iowa. It's time for me to sleep. Tomorrow is another full day.

Praise: For safe flights & connections
For funding for one more wall!
For a chance to see friends and especially to see how some of these students are growing spiritually!

Pray: For continued travel safety
For my meeting on Monday morning with ELI directors
For meaningful connections with others
For an openness to what God is doing!

Much love,
a tired me