We're home!

The two days between our return from Turkey and our departure to America slipped by like oil in my hands! I was not sure we would be able to unpack, do laundry, clean house (remember-our kids will be arriving with us when we get back to BP on Dec. 20th, so the house needed to be cleaned before we left for the U.S.!), winterize our yard and house, pay bills at the post office, repack and leave the mailbox key with our neighbors!



Oh! And go into town to pick up our visas that will allow us another 5 years in Hungary! We were able to pick them up without any problems, but it took out 3 hours of our day on Monday.




We had to get up at 4 am in order to be at the airport in time for our 7 am' flight. We went from BP to Paris, Paris to Cincinnati, Cincinnati to Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Glenn was able to catch a few zzzz's between Paris and Cincinnati.




This sign welcomed us at the Cincinnati airport!




After we picked up our rental "car", we stopped for dinner at Steak and Shake. We got a great bargain on our rental car because they were short on compact cars. They offered us 2 days free if we took a 12 passenger van so we thought, why not? It cost us $78 (plus taxes) for the van from Tuesday to Sunday!




We drove the 45 minutes from the Ft. Wayne International Airport to the Pokogan State Park where our conference was held. We stayed in the Potowatomi Inn, which was delightful. Very nice but quaintly rustic. The neatest thing happened though while we were there! One of our youth from when we were first married and working in Connersville, Indiana contacted us! Somehow he found out we were in northern Indiana for this conference and I guess he did a little research to find out where we were staying! It was cool! Maybe this time next year when we are on our stateside assignment, we can drive up for the conference and take an extra day to get by to see the folks in Connersville and to meet up with Mark Williams! It was a nice surprise.

Some of you that know me well may be wondering what we ate as soon as we got to America? Well, our first meal was at Steak and Shake in Ft. Wayne the evening we arrived, because we didn't see a good pizza place on our way. However, we did manage to find Little Ceasar's the next day in Angola, where the state park is located.

The conference was on Mental Health and Missions and was excellent. We knew a handful of people when we got there, and did a lot of networking during our 5 days there so that next year we'll know even more! We met a girl name Jennifer with the same last name as ours that is from Smyrna, Georgia!

There was a resource fair the last night that was a good place to get information on other member care agencies, retreat centers, and counseling centers that work with missionaries.

Well, it is Sunday afternoon and I am sitting in the Ft. Wayne International Airport ("International"?) waiting to catch our flight to Atlanta. We'll arrive in Atlanta at 4 pm and will be picked up by my sister Elizabeth and brother-in-law Brennon (but staying with my dad). It will be good to see family and friends again and to reconnect with our church. We'll be taking 3 weeks of "vacation" but will be checking emails periodically. Give us a call if you want to do something together!