Homeward Bound

It's been a long furlough--stateside assignment for those familiar with the SBC's International Mission Board terminology. We have been stateside since November. That was at least ten pounds ago for me. Okay, so maybe it was closer to fifteen. That's what happens when you visit church after church that feeds you a meal or two, accept numerous invitations to eat out, and rationalize eating by telling yourself it's the last time you will get to eat here or there.

Aside from gaining a few pounds, we did accomplish a lot this furlough. Let me just name a few of them:

• We have networked with a number of churches, who will help us in South America
• We trained men and women to serve as strategic partners
• We spoke in about 30 different churches in 3 different states
• We watched our daughters move forward in life
• We enjoyed the company of our brothers, sisters, and mothers

That is just a small sampling of a long 9 months of time away from our ministries. Now we are more than rested and more than ready to get back into the swing of things.

We are headed to a country we have called "home" for almost 20 years. Yes, come August 29th we are homeward bound.

Family Joy

My last posts took place in South America. This one is from South[ern] America--Mississippi.

My greatest joy of the past month (June) was not my birthday, or Father's Day; my greatest delight was sneaking down to Peru to surprise my baby girl at her graduation from high school.

We had pulled Melissa out of her school, The International Christian School of Lima, to bring her home for an unexpected furlough, known in our circles as "stateside assignment," or "STAS." ICSL was kind and allowed us to continue her studies via correspondence. With that assurance from them I promised Melissa I would do all in my power to allow her to return to march in her class's graduation.

But there was not going to be enough dollars, Euros, or Soles, to get all three of us down there. God was kind to us (he always is) and provided buddy passes for Pam and Melissa. So down they went. At the time we got those passes, it looked impossible for me to join them. The airline pilot who gave us those passes, though, had another one he could share; and he shared it with me.

Being the devious person I am, I chose to keep that information between Pam, the pilot, and me. So, two days before graduation, while Melissa was taking her final exams, I sauntered into the building. No words can describe the shock, joy, and exhuberation Melissa showed when she looked down the hallway and saw me.

No words can adequately describe Pam's or my joy and pride over Melissa's accomplishment.

So now our lives will change; Pam and I will return to South America in a couple of months. This time we go without children. It's a bittersweet feeling. We are both excited and sad. It's been something like 25 years since our nest has been empty.

Those events made for a very full June. Now comes July...

Somewhere in South[ern] America

Last Wednesday I left my wife and youngest daughter and headed for the airport. Check-in, normally a lengthy process, was a breeze. I was walking upstairs to enjoy a cup of coffee within 5 minutes of my arrival at the airport.

I walked down to the advertised gate--gate 19. As I looked out at our Boeing 767-300, I relished the idea of a daytime flight; we always travel at night. This was going to be delightful. But something was not quite right. The ground crew was lounging on the steps, not loading luggage, not readying the plane.

My suspicions were finally confirmed. That plane was not leaving for Miami. The dreaded words, "We're sorry to inform you that Flight 510 to Miami has been delayed," were announced to the chagrin of more than one hundred travellers. I meandered up to an agent and asked her how long of a delay. She told me she would let me know at 11. Eleven came and went. I went back. "Oh," she said. "I've been looking for you (I was no more than 20 feet away at any given time). You are one of 3 passengers who will miss their connections in Miami. We have to make other arrangements."

Now folks, I have always wanted to hear some of those words: "you are one of 3. . ." But I wanted it to end with ". . . winners, chosen at random for an all-expense paid trip around the world, culminating in box seats at next year's Super Bowl." Or, maybe, ". . .one of 3 winners of a new Lotus, plus five years of gasoline." But I did not want to hear that I was going to miss my connection.

I should have been more spiritual. I should have said, "Great! That means there is someone in Miami that needs to hear the gospel." But I was not so spiritual. I was not angry; after all, it was not that agent's fault that the plane had technical problems (to put it in her words). I was pretty glad I was not on that plane, in the air, only to discover that there was a mechanical failure that would mean we would get to discover the skill level of the pilot as he took us down into the cold Pacific Ocean. I really was not interested in seeing if my life vest would inflate.

But my mind was set. My course was set. I was ready to be in South[ern] America. It wasn't going to happen on my timetable. By the way, I said something about that a few weeks ago. The plans of the heart belong to man... Mine were interrupted and took one of those interesting turns.

The airline was good to me. They put me up in a nice hotel; they gave me a $20 supper ticket in a place where one course alone cost that much. But at least I got that. And I got a free ride to and from the airport.

So the next day, Thursday, I arrived quite early at the Miami Airport. Guess what? I was once again one of the specially chosen ones. This time it was for the full search of my person and my carry-ons. I let them know I knew the drill and that it happened every single time I had ever traveled through the Miami Airport. I was only glad I had come to the airport early. Those kinds of delays have been known to make one miss a flight.

I made it to my final destination with no more troubles. Except one: I bought a soft drink from a vending machine in Atlanta. Those bottles hold 20 ounces. How on earth does one manage to drink that much liquid at one time? And WHY?? It's one more evidence of the self-indulging nature of many Americans. As the man said in his movie, SUPER SIZE ME! Once you drink those things, you have to (please forgive!) get rid of it at some point in time. So guess what? The stewardess (or whatever they are now called) announced, "Sorry, ladies and gentlemen; the 'facilities' on this plane are out of order." Do you know what such announcements do for you? It's a pyschological thing; but they make you want to go use "the facilities." It's like running water.

Now I am in the process of settling in. There is much to be done. Pam and Melissa are still back in South America. I am here, tending to issues we have to face. I want things to be smooth when they arrive. Our host church has gone a long way in making that possible. The home we are going to live in is nice and very comfortable. I even cooked a meal there tonight. We will be blessed in that home and church, I have no doubt.

So now it begins; a new chapter in a new volume. For the next ten months, more or less, we are somewhere in South[ern] America.

Shalom.

Things I Learned While Traveling to America

I am in North America today--Mississippi, to be exact. South Mississippi. The land of pine trees, catfish, and Baptists. I came for a variety of reasons, none of which are relevant to this post. So let me tell you what I learned while traveling to America; it might be interesting to someone.

1. Traveling in coach has become interesting. The seats must be shrinking in width. The leg room is certainly smaller than it once was.
2. The earphones are bigger than the seats you sit in. Sticking those things in your ears can be as painful as body piercings look.
3. If you travel on a day flight if the person next to the window closes the window blind, you lose the best advantage of daytime travel.
4. Be careful what you ask immigrations officials about their equipment. It could slow you down.
5. I learned that many Americans have a steadily decreasing vocabulary. There were many who seemed to only know four-letter words.
6. I was a confirmed and fully persuaded creationist. Then I saw the baggage handlers in the Miami Airport. Now I am not so sure....
7. You can't get a Dr. Pepper on the flights between South America and North America. Never mind that they advertise them as a part of their stock soft drinks. What is this world coming to?
8. Americans are some of the most generous people on the face of the earth. I listened with great interest to a man tell of building schools in Latin America. It's all done as donations to the countries they build them in. I listened to others tell of their contributions to world missions.
9. Americans still know how to smile in the south.
10. Americans still know how to cook in the south.
11. Americans still know how to eat really big meals in the south.
12. Northerners don't know how to eat grits and eggs.
13. Many Mississippians love Jesus. They will go anywhere to serve him.

I have two more weeks in the deep south. Then it is back to South America. Pray for a positive response to the invitation to come and help us win that continent for Jesus.