I feel like my adventures at home are coming to a close... these final days are the denouement, so to speak.
I just finished a bunch of paperwork bits that had to get done today, so I'm sitting in Starbucks where I was a bit less distracted than I am at home :) Now that the paper work is done, I can spend a few minutes sipping my coffee, munching my chocolate chip cookie, and catching up with a few folks on Skype.
Things have been so good here at home. I've had some wonderful times with good friends, catching up, as if I've hardly been away. I've really tried to pack a lot into this summer holiday, yet still make sure to have the time to just veg on the couch and stare into space with coffee in hand :) The weather hasn't been quite good enough for the glasses of wine on the patio that I was hoping to drink, but there have been some nice days, all the same.
It was a real treat to spend a good amount of time with my sister and one of my nephews on our road trip to Seattle. It's the most time I've had together with my sister for... well... many, many years. And it was wonderful! It was cool to spend time with my nephew (second oldest), as well. He's such a nice young man! I'm so impressed with him.
I had a funny little incident in church the other day, though! I'd been emailing my pastors for a few weeks to see if I could "bring greetings" to the congregation one Sunday. I never heard back from them, but because of my rarely being home, I didn't have a chance to follow up with a phone call. So last Sunday, I was sitting in church, enjoying a really great sermon in which my pastor told stories of the time that he was a literacy worker in South Asia... when suddenly, I found myself called up to the front to "bring greetings"! At least I didn't have time to get nervous about what to say! It also makes me realize how far I've come in my public speaking abilities to be able to just skip up on stage in front of the entire church and think of something reasonable to say and not just stand there like a deer in the headlights :) And hopefully I was coherent enough to say something that made sense and that expressed my appreciation for the prayers and support that the church gives me!
Tomorrow I'm going up to my sister's place in the forest. I'm really looking forward to spending these last precious few days with her, my bro-in-law and the boys. And then, Monday... phew... off I go, back to Africa!
I just finished a bunch of paperwork bits that had to get done today, so I'm sitting in Starbucks where I was a bit less distracted than I am at home :) Now that the paper work is done, I can spend a few minutes sipping my coffee, munching my chocolate chip cookie, and catching up with a few folks on Skype.
Things have been so good here at home. I've had some wonderful times with good friends, catching up, as if I've hardly been away. I've really tried to pack a lot into this summer holiday, yet still make sure to have the time to just veg on the couch and stare into space with coffee in hand :) The weather hasn't been quite good enough for the glasses of wine on the patio that I was hoping to drink, but there have been some nice days, all the same.
It was a real treat to spend a good amount of time with my sister and one of my nephews on our road trip to Seattle. It's the most time I've had together with my sister for... well... many, many years. And it was wonderful! It was cool to spend time with my nephew (second oldest), as well. He's such a nice young man! I'm so impressed with him.
I had a funny little incident in church the other day, though! I'd been emailing my pastors for a few weeks to see if I could "bring greetings" to the congregation one Sunday. I never heard back from them, but because of my rarely being home, I didn't have a chance to follow up with a phone call. So last Sunday, I was sitting in church, enjoying a really great sermon in which my pastor told stories of the time that he was a literacy worker in South Asia... when suddenly, I found myself called up to the front to "bring greetings"! At least I didn't have time to get nervous about what to say! It also makes me realize how far I've come in my public speaking abilities to be able to just skip up on stage in front of the entire church and think of something reasonable to say and not just stand there like a deer in the headlights :) And hopefully I was coherent enough to say something that made sense and that expressed my appreciation for the prayers and support that the church gives me!
Tomorrow I'm going up to my sister's place in the forest. I'm really looking forward to spending these last precious few days with her, my bro-in-law and the boys. And then, Monday... phew... off I go, back to Africa!
