Overwhelmed....

This week I've been overwhelmed by two things: the magnitude of the devastation and pouring in of aid in the Philippines and the incredible response of people to our celebration of 25 years in mission aviation and the fact that we're in a transition right now. It's amazing to realize how quickly life can change for any of us. And it's humbling to know you have friends who would walk with you through anything.

Last night I was type chatting with several friends in the Philippines and the homesickness hit again. The ache to be there, to be a physical part of what's going on, the desire to help, the knowledge that a chapter in our lives is finished. And gratitude for the incredible friendships God gave us there, friendships that I know will last the test of time.

We've spent a good part of today getting ready for Global Connections, a missions conference our church is doing in partnership with another church in town. We're just setting up a display table, but we're looking forward to it. I can't wait to hear what God is doing through other missions and missionaries, I'm looking forward to connecting with friends and making new ones, and we're excited to be part of corporate worship once more. I don't know.... missions conferences are just pretty much fun.

This evening is an international potluck, and I was thinking through things I could take. In fact, I was trying to think of some amazing international salad to share (I arbitrarily signed up for salad). Something we routinely ate overseas. I really couldn't come up with anything. Kevin's response? "Mom, most places we've lived we didn't really eat salad." Oh, yeah. So, I came up with an idea from life in the jungle growing up. I'm not sure it's a great salad... maybe more like a reality check.

Well, I guess I'd better go make that salad and get ready to go.