Leaving Home, Going Home

Last Tuesday we flew back to Guatemala.  Our day started early- 3:30 A.M. to be exact!  We got up, got dressed, loaded the car, and headed into town to pick up David's mom.  She went with us to drive the car back.  Let me just mention that we were blessed to be able to stay in David's aunt's furnished extra house, drive his sister's extra surburban, borrow a car seat, pack 'n play, stroller, and his Mom bought all the diapers, wipes, bibs, blankets, clothes, etc. we needed for Cruz for the whole two weeks.  Yes, we are blessed!

our family at the Jackson airport

We arrived at the airport at 5:15 for our 6:15 flight.  We had no trouble checking in.  Cruz soon fell back asleep and ended up sleeping until we landed in Houston.  We ate breakfast at Wendy's (our last sausage and biscuit for a while) and enjoyed some Starbuck's coffee.  As soon as we arrived at our gate we started feeling "at home" again.  It was full of Guatemalans waiting to board the flight.  They immediately started asking about the baby- what's his name, where was he born, how much does he weigh, etc.  And, they wanted to hug and kiss him.  We love how the Latins love our baby!  We made it to Guatemala on time- 11:16 a.m., got our luggage, and caught a taxi to our mission house there.  We rested that night before driving on to Coban the next day.  It was a great day of travel and we thank each of you who prayed for us.

We also thank you for praying for us during our vacation time.  It was one of the best trips home we have taken yet.  Our families getting to hold and love on Cruz was worth every dime we spent to get there.  We wouldn't trade it for anything!  The photos and memories we have are priceless!  That said, it was also the hardest return trip we have made yet.  Having to leave our families this time was very difficult.  The realization that they will not see Cruz grow up and that he will not be a part of their lives makes us very sad.  We've never felt like we've ever sacrificed much to be on the mission field, but leaving this time felt like a huge sacrifice.  I'll just say that a lot of tears have been shed this past week- in both countries.  We know without a doubt that we are right where we are supposed to be, but that doesn't mean it's always easy to be here.  God is good, and His grace will sustain us through the hard times.

                            

Cruz and David on the flight back

On a happier note-

We just returned from our third and final house hunting trip to Sayaxche'.  We found a place to live!!!  We are very excited about that and will be blogging about the trip tomorrow.  Thanks for praying about that too.  :-)