missions 2012

Not long after we started attending our church a little over 2 years ago, they started talking about adopting an unreached people group in Southeast Asia. Not much was ever said about it, but that's because it's very dangerous for the people in that country to be Christians because it's a communist country. Occasionally we would be asked to pray for a group of church members who were going on a mission trip over there, but that was about it.

One day this summer on the way home from church, Rodney mentioned to me that he might like to go on one of those trips at some point. I encouraged him to do it if he ever got the opportunity. Not even 2 weeks later the opportunity presented itself to him completely out of the blue. It was such a God thing. He began to pray about it and everything worked out for him to go.

I was so excited about him going, and even though he was going to be gone for 11 days, I felt very confident that this was the right thing for our family. I was going to be strong and hold things down at home...until it got closer and more real. I began to freak out a little bit when the reality hit me. I made plans to spend time with my family and friends, but it was still scary. I also didn't know how often I would get to talk to him.

We were actually able to email quite a bit more than I expected, which was nice, but I felt like I couldn't share things from home that might distract him. Isaac and I survived with the help of friends and family, but we were so happy to pick him up from the airport on Saturday!

In one of his last emails before starting the 28 hour trek home, Rodney requested homemade chocolate chip cookies. Isaac has been enjoying helping me bake lately, so I let him help make cookies for daddy. It was quite messy, but he loved it.

As excited as we were to get to the airport, we left a little later than we should have, had to stop and get gas, then took a minor detour, so we didn't actually get there in time to see him come through the gate from the plane, but we did see him coming down the escalator to baggage claim.

It was a great experience for him and a learning experience for me, but we are so glad to have him home!