Bittersweet....

   Just wanted to let you know that we haved landed in the States. Travel was a bit harder than the trip to Lebanon, but the Lord was gracious. We were so glad to be able to lay Isaiah down in his bed after 28 hours of traveling. He did so well.
    As I sit writing this, there is such a sadness in my heart. Though I am excited about being with family, especially for Isaiah.... Lebanon was home for those short ten weeks. There are people that I love there.... people that do not know Jesus.  There are also brothers and sisters in Christ that truly are family to us.  The hardest part is not knowing what the Lord's will is... will I ever see them again? The believers I know that we will meet around the Throne of God to sing and worship together once again.  But my heart is so heavy for those that do not yet know Christ. I pray that my Father would give me the grace to completely entrust my heart and mind to the will of my Loving Savior.... He is such a merciful God and such a patient Lord. He abounds in steadfast Love. His will is perfect and I am His, bought with a precious price. His Life paid the ransom for my sin and now He has me... heart, mind, and soul. "Return to rest, O my soul..... for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you."

Day 69

Well- it's only 10 am, but I won't have much time to write later. Between packing, giving Isaiah a bath, and loading the car... today will be pretty busy. We are gonna try to get to bed early because we have to leave for the airport at 3am. Please pray for our travels. It will take about 24 hours to get home. On the way here Isaiah was so good. Please pray that the trip won't be stressful for him and that he will rest well. Thank you for all your prayers.

Day 68

Well- Today was our final church service in Tyre for this trip. Sean preached. Then we had to say goodbye to Said, Hanan, and the kids, as well as Mahmoot and some of the Palestinian children. We try to make it easier by thinking that we will be back... but we don't know what the Lord wills at this time. After  church we had lunch and then Walid and Said stopped by the Hippodrome so that we could at least see it for a minute. Sean said that we went faster than any chariot that had ever been there! The wind was too cold to have Isaiah out. We so wish we could've stayed longer. We did get to see the triumphal arch. Being from a country where our history only dates back 250 years, it is unreal to walk through a house that is 2000 years old. I wish that I could some how see the history of where I walked today. We didn't have a guide, but it didn't matter... it was beautiful.
When we got back to Beirut, we didn't have electricity (they aren't supposed to cut it off on Sunday's... surprise!) so Sean and I walked down to Cafe Younes... but it was so crowded, we just walked back. Everyone took a nap except me. It seems as if the evening has flown by so quickly. Tomorrow we will finish our packing and go to bed early so that we will be rested for our travel. I can't believe our time here has gone by so fast.

Day 68

       Today was an interesting day. We were supposed to go to Byblos with Noah today, but we first had to go to immigration to get our exit visa. Once we got there we waited about 45 minutes before they called our names. Then we found out that we had to have more passport photos and copies of our passport and entrance visa for all 3 of us. So we left thinking we wouldn't be able to make it back today. But the Lord was so gracious. As we were walking out there was a soldier that spoke English and he directed us to a nearby place that took pictures and made photo copies. It was raining so we were trying to go quickly because we had Isaiah. As we walked passed the barricade and around the corner we weren't sure which building it was. Then a man standing out in the rain with an umbrella started waving us in his direction. He ran out in the rain and gave us his umbrella and asked if we needed pictures. Granted- he was the owner of the shop and we found out later that he had charged us 3 times what he should have!..(. it was sssoooooooo expensive.)... But the Lord is our Provider and we were thankful. Within 20 minutes we had everything we needed and headed back to immigration where we waited for another 45 minutes. They finally called our names again, took our paper work and told us to go have a seat and wait. So we did. It was passed time for Isaiah to eat, so a different soldier unlocked a bathroom for me to go in and nurse. When  I was finished we were told our paper work went downstairs. Once we got there we only had to wait another 20 minutes or so and it was done! What a relief! Although it was a lot of waiting and a long day... there were so many blessings. The soldier and the guy with the umbrella were two blessings... the fact that we got it done today without having to go back Monday and start all over is another.. and then 4th, Isaiah was so good the whole time! Even though he completely missed his nap and was late eating... plus having to just sit and wait... he was so good! He laughed and played and even fell asleep on me in the midst of a bunch of noise and people. The Lord was so gracious through it all.
      When we finally got home, we knew Byblos wasn't going to happen. But we didn't mind. We spent the evening fellowshipping with Noah, a brother whom we have come to dearly love. When you pray for missionaries... please remember to pray for Noah. He is a godly young man who is giving his life for the cause of Christ. I have never met a missionary more humble and committed to his calling. Pray for him often.
       Sean will be preaching in Tyre tomorrow. And we will be saying goodbye to Said and his family, which won't be fun. Then Lord willing we will come back to Beirut and prepare to come home. We have a few last minute things that need to be taken care of and some packing to do. Thank you for your prayers.

Day 67

Today seemed to be such a heavy day... does that make sense? Just a lot going on and a lot on my mind. Isaiah was fussy all day... not sure why... any of the zillion reasons.. gas?teething?tired? or maybe just because he could sense the stress of everyone else. Today I set aside the whole day just to get our stuff together and start packing.  Though it took all day,  I did get a great deal accomplished. It just seemed as though I had led in my shoes. Every task seemed laborious. But the Lord was gracious to me.  All our drawers and closets are empty. I have about 2 loads of laundry to do, but other than packing up those clothes and a couple of odds and ends like medicine, lotion, etc... We are packed. I know I've said this before, but my emotions are so mixed up. I am so excited about spending Christmas with our family..... and excited about everyone getting to see our big ol' boy... but at the same time, honestly, I don't want to leave. It was really hard saying goodbye to Xhitam and Lodi. My sadness does make me thankful that the Lord gave us relationships that mean so much. Tomorrow may be the last time we get to see Noah before we leave... that is going to be a hard one too.
 Anyway-  Xhitam's husband, Hamid, brought us dinner again tonight. He is a wonderful cook! Please continue to pray for them.  Today Sean went to get our visas stamped and they wouldn't stamp them without me and Isaiah being there. So we will have to go back in the morning. Also Sean went to the hospital today to have his leg checked out. Thankfully he didn't have a blood infection, but he did have an infection. They wanted to hospitalize him in order to give him antibiotics through an IV, but he talked the doctor into just giving him an oral antibiotic and she agreed. She said for him to take them until Sunday and then give her a call. If anything gets worse he was advised to go immediately to the ER. We are praying that the Lord would use the means of medicine to heal him. Sean is feeling good other than his leg hurting. We will keep you updated and would ask that you continue to pray.
All the pics were taken in the villages except for the two with other people. One picture is of me, sean, isaiah, and Lodi (our arabic teacher), the other is of me, isaiah, Xhitam, and her daughter Angie.

p.s. UPDATE : Remember the couple Jen & Jake that i asked you to pray for??? Well- the courts in Ethipia approved them to adopt. They are officially the legal parents of 3 Ethiopian children! Please pray for them as they prepare for their arrival! Praise the Lord for His faithfulness and for the journey!

Day 66

Today was another emotional day. My neighbor, whom I have grown close to, left this evening to go to her brother's wedding in Syria. She won't be back until after I leave. We got our dates mixed up. I thought we were going to have all this week together and she thought we would have all next week together. We spent some time together this morning and a little bit of time together this evening. I walk by faith.. not knowing what the Lord's will is for our return to Lebanon. I know that salvation is of the Lord. We must be obedient to plant the seeds, be He is the only One who can save. Her husband said that she had been a nicer wife since she had met me and been spending time with me. That was an honor. It shows me that in a small way.. even though there was language barriers that the Lord allowed them both to see something in me that was different... the love of Christ. Please pray for this family, the husband, wife, and 1 year old daughter.
We also said goodbye to our sweet friends, the Swifts, today. We spent some time with the husband and wife. We went downtown and had lunch and saw some of the Roman ruins. It is unbelievable to stand there and look at these columns and realize that they are the real deal... it is so crazy. There were people excavating some of the ruins... I wanted so bad to get down there and dig with them. What a cool job that would be! Yet our job is to dig into the Word of God and find priceless jewels that will never fade!
Please also pray for Sean. He had his insulin pump set in his leg. It went into the muscle and we are afraid that it may be infected. It looks like we are going to have to go to the doctor tomorrow. Please pray that the Lord will heal it. It is very painful. And an infection can be dangerous. Thank you for your love and prayers.

Day 65

Today was a good day.. but a sad one. Today was our last Arabic class. :o( I know I have mentioned it in past blogs, but our teacher, Lodi, has been such a blessing and encouragement. Her love for Christ permeates through her smile, her speech, her actions.... in every way. We were hoping to be able to go to church with her before we left, but it hasn't worked out. Today we sat and had coffee and fellowshipped, talking about the wonderful love and mercy of our Savior. Then we came back to Walid's to cram in as much as possible for us to study while we are in the States. I will miss her dearly. You know how sometimes you meet another believer and it is as if you have known that person your whole life? That is Lodi. So my prayer requests tonight are for her. Her husband and children are saved, but she has other family members that are not. They are nominal Christians, not true believers and they don't understand her faith. Pray that the Lord would give her grace and wisdom as she lives out the Gospel and shares it in their lives. Pray that the Lord would continue to use her for His glory. Most of all pray that the Lord would give her more of Himself. He is her all in all, her greatest joy and utmost desire... it is so evident in her life. I wish everyone could meet her! I am grateful that the Lord gave me such an opportunity.