If you’ve been keeping up with our blog this year, you’ve read a lot about our first furlough in the States. What a whirlwind trip! Many people have commented that they were exhausted after reading about our busy months. It was certainly a very full and busy time and a strange time in our lives. It’s not normal to leave your home and put routine life aside for 6 months to go around visiting family and friends. Who does that…oh yeah, missionaries.

We had such a good time visiting with family and friends. It was so good to catch up with people – to hear about what God has been doing in their lives, to meet their children, to see new homes, and to rejoice and weep with them. Our children loved spending time with new and old friends and with grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. We loved getting to do so many fun things that we don’t have access to in Cambodia – snow play, boating, skating, playgrounds, museums, church functions, etc (look back at the blog). It was lovely to take hot showers, have air conditioning, not worry about armies of ants, go to Costco and Aldi – and the library. We loved going to the library. Our kids got library cards and every time went we checked out over 50 books. All our kids finished the Greenville Library System’s Summer Reading Program in less than a week! I was reminded of all the privileges that come from living in America. We had a wonderful time and were blessed by the generosity of so many kind people.

Along with all the blessings came emotional exhaustion. It was exhausting to spend 6 months saying hello/goodbye over and over again. We would spend time with people – catch up – and then say goodbye. Halfway through, I was so exhausted from saying hello/goodbye to people that I didn’t even want to see anyone else. Our children started feeling it too. The hardest moment was when Clara started crying when she had to say goodbye to her 3-year-old cousins, “her friends” as she called them. I was shocked that it affected her that way. It made me cry.

Being in America made me realize how much easier it is to live in America than in Cambodia. We forget, and life in Cambodia becomes normal. I was reminded over and over again how easy it is to do things in America. This wasn’t a bad thing it was just one of those hmmm moments.

I really enjoyed the times I got to spend with many godly women – new friends and old. I’m thankful for the ladies who snatched me away for a meal or coffee to talk and encourage me, ask me good questions, and let me hear about their lives. I’m thankful for the ladies I was able to learn from. I’ll never forget the lady who would just start talking to God in the middle of our conversations: “Oh Lord, help that person and give them grace.” It made me rethink the phrase “pray without ceasing.”

Along with being encouraged by ladies, I was deeply sadden and discouraged with the loneliness I heard about from many women – Christian women. I was puzzled with the question – how can Christian women in good, faithful, small and large churches feel so alone – feel like there is no one who really cares about them or their spiritual walk. I asked several people for their thoughts about this. Each person acknowledged the problem and had theories for its cause.

I was surprised how much I missed our people back in Cambodia. When I’m in Cambodia, I really don’t miss anyone in American. Maybe that’s because I have instant access to them via internet. But when I was in America, I missed my sisters and brothers in Cambodia. I found myself often wondering how they were doing. It was good to get back to them.

While we enjoyed our time in the States, we were all glad to get back to our home and work in Cambodia. Even though we are foreigners here, this is where we belong right now and this is where God wants us. We’re back to our work. Back to our routine. Back to having a normal family life. Back home. We’re thankful for all the safety God gave us in the States, Thankful for all the time we had with family and friends. And we’re thankful to be back living in Cambodia.