Back i n the USS....umm, Back in the USA, Don't Know how Happy we are.....

Yep, we are home.
Yep, we are happy.
Yep, we are sad.
Yep, we are confused.
Yep, we are in shock.
Yep, we do not know exactly where we fit now....or if we even fit.

Serving overseas changes things in your life in ways you cannot imagine unless you have been there yourself.  I use to think, there is no way that 2 short years can change a person that much.
But we did not serve 2 short years.
We served 2 long, hard, wonderful, sad, happy, crazy, angry, joyful, trusting, believing, rejoicing, growing years.
We saw things we had only read about. We met people we could have only imagined. We helped with needs too far beyond our comfy American lives. We traveled to areas I had only seen on TV,  poorer than poor. We saw lots and lots.
We also saw love, and hope, and faith, and joy. We meet families that had been directly affected by persecution. We met new believers that had been laughed at and ridiculed by their own family. We saw true worship in churches where people came to worship God in extremely humble surroundings (concrete buildings with plastic stools to sit on). We gave out school supplies to orphans who were truly thankful and thanked the Father, and not just us. We were able to give away clothes and belongs to poor elderly people who went through our trash daily and we were able to reap the reward of a "thank you" with bright eyes, in the best broken English they could muster up. We were able to see friends become Part of the Family and others who are getting closer and closer.

So, coming home has been hard. We Americans are so caught up  in self it is unbelievable. We go days, months, years, lifetimes with out ever sharing our faith.
I am the first to admit, before I went to China, I was not as bold as I am now, I talked to people often then, about my faith and "come to church with me",  but not as directly, not as straight-forwardl-y, not as URGENTLY.

We need an URGENCY  about us. We need to share and love and help and sacrifice. We need to be the Hands and Feet  of Christ.
Being overseas put that urgency in me and I do not want to lose it, as I return back to my comfortable, plush, rich life ( and believe me, we all are rich here in America compared to there).

As we try to fit back in, please help us pray that God places us where we can continue to minister to Asian populations, work for the Kingdom in a church fellowship where we are needed, and where the kids will find a place to belong. As Bob considers jobs in various locations, the above 3 are our biggest concerns. We want to still hold onto our China mindset as we begin a new life and purpose here in the states.