How do we know? There's a counter at the bottom of the blog that we check when we get on. Brendan put the counter on and at first I thought it was silly to have, but it has really been a source of joy for us. We know how busy that all of you are, and that you don't have time to write us long e-mails about what's going on at home. So that counter takes the place of news. Even if we don't have much contact with you, we know that you do care about us and you are checking in with us regularly.
Leaving home has been harder than I thought it would be. In Iowa and Minnesota in the U.S. and around Brisbane, Australia, we have the pleasure of having a close network of awesome family and friends... most people will only dream of having so many good people around them.
But even if sometimes it seems foolish to leave so many good people, even if only for one year, there have been many things that happened when we were discerning to show us that this was God's plan for us. So He has and will give us many graces to do His work. We have experienced that truth in our lives, so it helps us be able to trust.
When I get a little bit homesick Brendan helps me a ton and lets me talk through it. But my other resort is to look at this picture. I keep it on my desk in our room and look at it whenever I need to. It always makes me smile and remember all of the people at home : )
This is a picture from Christmas last year. You can't see it too well, but it's in our living room at home with the Christmas tree behind us. Mom and Dad had gotten us big, goofy glasses that we all wore for the picture and tried hard to look nerdy. To most of us it obviously came naturally, but Mary, Sarah, and Jian will have to mature a little more - they look a little too normal for their own good.
Side note: My parents have an awesome sense of humor. Not only did they get us these funny glasses, they got all seven of us kazoos for vacation (very brave on their part), and best of all they got us each a set of gross false teeth.
It was within the past few years and I think it was Mom who bought us each a little set of false teeth - you know the ones where the 'pearly whites' look black, mangled, and in an extremely advanced state of decay. Anyway, Mom got us to all take a picture smiling with these teeth in and sent it to our family's dentist. We hoped he would proudly put the picture on the wall of his office, but no luck ; )
Anyway, you can probably tell how happy I am just talking about the picture and people at home! So please know that we do miss all of you a lot even if we are having lots of cool experiences over here. Timor will be amazing, but going home will be great too. So as this holiday season starts, know that we treasure your friendship and your prayers are really appreciated. Talk to you soon!
Always,
Rachel and Brendan
2 comments:
I don't have to dream about having so many good people around me because my dream came true when I met you guys!
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