May 29th through 30th (Days 142-143): SURPRISE!

May 29th:
Got really sick last night ... not a great way to start a 48 hour trip back to the States. Oh yes, SURPRISE! When the administrators decided to end the school year early, they also told us we could go home early. So about a month ago I booked new tickets. I decided to keep it a surprise. Ten days ago I learned that Mom was planning to go out of town, so I had to let the cat out of the bag and tell her. But we decided to keep it from the rest of the family...

At 11am a bus came to take the remaining 8 members of our team to Erbil. We packed it full with all of our bags and headed off to the airport. Unfortunately neither Andy nor I were feeling well, so there wasn't too much excitement about going home beaming from our faces. Zander was pretty happy though - "When are we going to get to America?" Andy, Lisa, the kiddos and I took a flight to Frankfurt, which left at 4:30pm. Mary, John, and Henry's flight to Istanbul left early the next morning, so they stayed with fellow SGI'ers in Erbil.

At the Erbil airport:

Had a good flight to Frankfurt, where I met up with my "German sister" from the high school exchange program. Her mom drove us to our hotel where Andy and Lisa put the kiddos to bed. Katze, her mom, and I went downtown for some dinner. It was great to see them (even though I wasn't completely coherent.) Crashed into bed at the hotel around 1am Duhok time.

May 30th:
Got up this morning (later than I had planned ... once again, God teaching me that I need to depend on Him) and caught the shuttle with Andy and Lisa to the airport. Andy and Lisa's flight ended up being delayed, so we went over to the kids' play area for an hour. At 8am, it was time for me to catch my flight and head through security, so we said our goodbyes. It will be strange to live life without them after our lives were so intertwined for the last 5 months.

Made it through security relatively quickly, then boarded the plane a little after 9am. Met someone from Turkey while waiting at the gate ... it is funny how easy it was to identify him as someone from "my neck of the woods." Before I couldn't have distinguished between someone from Turkey and someone from another part of the Middle East. It was long flight to San Francisco and though I still wasn't feeling well, God gave me the grace to endure. I didn't eat a lot, but was thankful not to be dealing with anymore nausea.

Air movement across the wing of the plane:

Landed in San Francisco a little ahead of schedule. Had to go through customs, re-check my bag, get my boarding pass and go back through security. Thankful to have a good spirit through the entire process - a smile definitely helps speed things up! When I got to the gate, I learned that there was an early flight going to Medford. Even though I've never been able to switch flights, I thought I'd ask. The attendant told me he could get in trouble for putting me on a flight different from my checked bag ... a smile and a stick of gum later, my name was on the standby list! By the time I was able to call Mom and tell her that an earlier arrival might be possible, I had been assigned a seat number!

Arrived in Medford right on time. I called Dad as I was taxiing down the runway. "Hi Dad. You know how you wanted to Skype today? Well I thought I'd call you instead." Pause. "Where are you? Are you okay?" "Well ... I'll tell you where I'm not. I'm not in Iraq ... I'm not in Frankfurt ... I'm not even in San Francisco ... I'm in Medford!" "I'll be right there."

As I deplaned and waved to the observation deck, I saw excited movement and heads disappear back inside the airport. I moved faster toward the glass doors. Eithen stood on the other side. I could tell he recognized me when he tried frantically to push through the doors. I couldn't get all of the brothers into my arms fast enough. Grandpa, Grandma and my best friend Jessica met me at the airport too. Went to dinner and then Bible Study. It felt good to be back home with my church family. I was glad I could go on my first night back. Picked up my bag at the airport on the way home. So thankful for a safe trip home and a happy reception.

During the last forty-eight hours, God has given me many reasons to thank Him. It's even been apparent that the intense stomach pain has been a blessing, keeping me in dependence on God. As I settle back into a comfortable environment, my heart's desire is to continue to walk in the strength of the Lord and be kept from a false sense of security. It has been a delight to see God orchestrate events and circumstances for His glory and for my good even as I walk in dependence on Him.

*****

Since being home, here are a few of the things I have enjoyed:
Surprising my sister in Portland
Helping Eithen during his sleep study
Fellowship with church family
Eating steak!

Some of the things that have been an adjustment:
Understanding every conversation, lyric, and intercom announcement
Using a seat belt regularly (and riding in a car multiple times per day)
Training my body to complete everyday tasks (that 2 second pause before releasing toilet paper into the toilet bowl instead of throwing it away)
Shopping on a Friday morning

During the summer I won't be blogging as regularly, but I will try to keep the blog updated with some of the highlights. Thanks be to God for His goodness during these past five months! I left feeling self-sufficient with a need to prove myself. I have come home humbled, realizing that it took a trip halfway around the world to show me my utter dependence on God. How sweet to find that in our weakness, His strength is made known; that in our nakedness, He stoops to cover us; that in our failings, He is our All!