Have cane, will travel

We are home and pouring sweat in Manila. All flights went very well. Using the wheelchair was a huge blessing at each location. I did go through a panic in Tokyo though. I asked Jeff what time it was in Tokyo before we landed there. He said "quarter to five". All I heard was "five" so I changed the hour setting on my watch to 5:45 instead of 4:45. Our next flight was at 6:25 so I started to get concerned when our plane had to be towed into the gate and then wait for the wheelchair guy to get others into their wheelchairs. Fortunately he brought us to the head of the security check line. We got to the gate with about 5 minutes to spare. But the door to the gate was roped off so I was afraid we had missed the flight even though I saw the plane sitting there. It finally dawned on me that we had an hour and 5 minutes. Phew. It really took me some time to relax after that even though Jeff had prayed that all would go well. He didn't realize I was looking at the wrong time. Anyway, I needed a little adventure at that point. I didn't realize how easily I can self-create adventure based on wrong information (it wasn't said wrong but it went through my grid wrong).

We got through the Manila airport faster than ever and it was a huge help to have the wheelchair guy get all our bags on the cart for me. I had lots of help with our baggage and only needed to get it on the first cart in Minneapolis so that part went smoothly. The security check areas were the roughest part of the trip since I needed to deal with both Jeff's and my own gear and make sure we didn't leave anything behind. Jeff traveled very well. His hip and left foot managed without any problems. Next time we travel he will not be using the cane so that will be helpful--but then we probably won't be using the wheelchair. Dave Majam was there to pick us up and the waiting area wasn't crowded like it usually is. Jeff really enjoys getting the update from Dave and we appreciate his helpfulness as well as from many along the way.

Family

One of our challenges as a missionary family is that our family is spread apart in the US by thousands of miles and then we are another 8 - 10 thousand miles from any of them. It was a blessing to be with family over the Christmas holiday. We started in Minnesota and had the chance to see my folks, several of my siblings and spouses, nieces and nephews and other friends and family. Amos and Laura came from California and we were able to have a reception for them in my parent's building. Laura's parents also came from Sioux Falls to join in the celebration. Then we went to Spokane to celebrate Christmas with our daughter Micah, husband Danny and granddaughter Constance. It was also fun to spend time with Danny's parents, brother (and girlfriend who is now his fiance) and grandparents. All these times make special memories. We were able to get a family photo before we all separated ways. I was especially blessed to have this time with our kids and their spouses and our granddaughter all together as we get to know each other as a family.

What's in a name?

I just had a great talk with my Dad. I was thanking him for how he and my mom have encouraged me to grow in my love for God's Word. We were talking about reading all the names in the Old Testament and he said some day he might meet those people (not all of them listed in the Bible of course) and he wants to say to them "Oh, I read your name in the Bible. Nice to meet you". Like, did you know there is a woman in the Bible named Noah? He told me he found his 100 page thesis he wrote on the Tabernacle for his graduation from Northwestern College. I want to get a copy of that. He reminded me that Jesus said that Moses and the Prophets wrote about Him so we need to be looking for all the shadow references of Jesus when we read the Old Testament. We had a precious conversation about many things and updates on the Hartzellites. And I reminded him how he shared Acts 17 with me before we left for the mission field. We were giving up our home and we knew that as missionaries, we would no longer identify one place in the world as our home. How we cherish that Heaven is our home and when we are there, we will not be longing for home anymore. In the meantime, we are to seek the Lord through His Word. He greatly encouraged me and he said I encouraged him. Oh, how I miss them. My heart is now in 4 places on this earth and one in my eternal home in Heaven.