Friday, December 10, 2010

Jet Lag, Friends, Cold Weather & the Next Thing

A few days ago we landed safely @ DFW International Airport. Sydney & Nathan-Raegan were troopers through the entire ride. Kerry & I realized that they finally realized what was happening and what we were doing. Reagan continually asked what time it was and wondered if the airplane was going to leave us. He asked about every two minutes in Nairobi if it was time to get on the plane. Sydney just wanted to stand at the windows in Nairobi and London and watch the airplanes taxi, load and unload. At one point about 4 hours into the Sunday night leg (our flight from Nairobi leaves at midnight and arrives in London at 5:45am) with the entire plane dark and everyone asleep I looked over to see Syd staring at the video screen and rocking back and forth in her seat. I think she's been blessed with the ability to not be able to sleep like her father on a plane.
We return home with excitement, but we leave Kenya with a little bit of "not now". We're excited for salsa, McDonalds, and the people that we will get to connect with. I'm excited about driving in traffic with rules that actually are followed, Kerry is ready for a white Christmas in Colorado and the kids can't wait to see Memphis, they're golden doodle that we had to leave behind in Arkansas. We're all feeling the "not now" because November has finally been a good month after 4 extremely hard ones. They aren't boxes all over the house, our homework actually make sense when it comes home from school, and we'll miss our staff, students and new friends in Nairobi. I've decided in my mind that this is a good thing. Its good to want to come home, after all this is the background of our portrait. We count on our family and friends to be praying for us and supporting us as we experience God's calling in Kenya, so its fun to see them and reconnect. Its also good that we're wanting to go back (two months ago we'd weren't and coming home would of been dangerous). It was good to hear Kerry last night sigh when we slid into the bed with enough blankets to keep the cold out. It was that sigh you know means, "ahh this feels good, this is nice". I felt the same way. It was what she said that reminded me I'm married to an amazing woman of God, "I glad we're not apart of this, that home is over there." I wouldn't rate the Stickney family as the model missionary family. The make your family like this and you'll be able to serve the Lord where ever he places you. Far from it. I wouldn't say we've done the last 6 months in the best way possible, actually life together for 11 years. But I know this... we've trusted God and done the next thing.
My prayer for you and your family during this holiday season is that as you look back on this year and prepare for 2011 that you'll say to yourselves, "we've trusted God and done the next thing".
From the Stickney family to yours... Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. May this season be a sweet time with family and friends and find you following His lead in your lives.