As the only Christians and people with white skin that our neighbors have ever seen, we fight a constant current of those who are curious and gawking. People often don’t see us but what they can get from us. It takes energy every day to make our words understood. Explaining furlough was nearly impossible. They were sure it was a four-month vacation just to see family.

The truth is that we also get lonely on furlough. We are at a different church nearly every week. We make friends and then do not see them again. Our children won’t try new foods. We try to tempt them with Rainier cherries, blueberries and strawberries. They just ask for mango and rice. They also refuse to drink water from the tap.

Nathan had no idea what the TV was at Grandma’s house. “What’s the big black thing hanging on your wall?” Alyssa asks to be sprayed after using the toilet, and we try to explain that bidets are infrequent in this country. We struggle with the health system in America not accepting new patients without medical records from the previous year, not knowing what to do with our strange ailments, and the months needed to get an appointment when we only have weeks in any one area. We were hoping for a thorough examination for Alyssa as she has been complaining of belly pain for months. After two doctors, several nurse practitioners and nurses, and even a night in the ER, we are no further along in finding answers than at the beginning.

As I shared with the AFM staff during morning worship after being in the field for seven years, I talked haltingly, fighting through emotion to keep my voice as I shared our successes, rejections, and how God has personally called to me. The AFM leadership sat down with us to ask how we were doing physically, emotionally and spiritually, what was going well and what was not, and how they could help us succeed. What a blessing to have an organization behind us 100 percent, which is also a safe place for a good cathartic cry.

We have been treasuring every minute with cousins and grandparents.

Thank you to everyone who is hosting us or lending a car. Thank you to those pouring enough love into us in a few short days to last us until we meet again in two or three years.

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