In the midst of our craziness (our whirlwind mini-furlough tour before our departure to Lima), Alison, Cailyn and I were blessed to spend 10 days with our supporting congregation, the Fairlane Church of Christ, in Shelbyville, Tennessee. In some ways, I guess (it’s not as though I have tons of experience with furloughs being that this was our first one), you really find out the depth of your relationship with your supporting congregation when you return home on furlough.
Considering that Alison, Cailyn and I only spent 10 days with our church family in Shelbyville, I didn’t want to have any regrets about not getting to see the people we wanted to see, and more importantly, see the people that wanted to see us. Thankfully, we were not disappointed.
We stayed in the home of our liaisons, Russ and Natalie Countess, along with their three children, Marissa, Grant, and Seth, who immensely blessed our lives. They were a huge reason why our time in Tennessee was so wonderful. Their love for Cailyn shone so brightly, and they were patient with us as we reminded them of what life with a 2-year-old was like! Having anyone in your home for more than a week can be stressful, but we never felt like we were imposing, and they were extremely encouraging to be with. Thank you Countess family!
We have been very blessed. We just wrapped up our time with our supporting congregation in Tennessee (the Fairlane Church of Christ), and now that I am relaxing in Abilene, it is very apparent to me how truly blessed my family is.
We have already taken full advantage of Cailyn’s wonderful grandparents here, and we look forward to her visit here soon with the rest of her grandparents. Alison’s parents and sister have helped to provide us with some relaxing times, and we have loved seeing Cailyn eat up all of the attention.
We will be in Texas until the 26th of this month, and we will be leaving Abilene (where we currently are) to go to College Station on the 19th. We are very excited to continue seeing loved ones that we have missed while being in Costa Rica, and we are still trying to get a hold of the fact that we will be in Peru in just two weeks!
Our teammates, John Mark and Tara, have been helping to prepare the way in many aspects for the rest of our team, and we know we will be in great hands when we get there. God has blessed them and provided for them in ways that have been fun to see, and we are asking that He do the same for us. There is no way we can deny the way God has guided our team even in just the past six months, and it is comforting to have the promise of His faithfulness as we continue to embark on this journey.
Thank you to all who have blessed us so far here in the States. We are forever grateful!
Here are a few photos we’ve taken so far:
We’re Here!
Justin, Geoff (the Fairlane CofC preacher), and Juan (the preacher of the Hispanic congregation at Fairlane)…2 vitally important men in our lives!
Playing the Wii with the McGills in TN (both of whom are in their 80s):
We got to visit with Alison’s grandparents when we flew from TN to TX…it was a great visit:
Mother-Sister Time:
Celebrating Birthday #2! a month early with friends and family:
