We made it! Praise the Lord.

I lost track of how long we traveled, but somewhere in there I know we lost a day. Exhausting. And yet, after long hours trying to get comfortable on three different airplanes, trekking through airports on three different continents, and throwing ourselves into the melee that is the baggage claim at Monrovia International airport, everything faded away the moment we stepped through the doors and saw our Liberian friends. What joy! What uncontainable delight to see them after an entire year with only telephone calls and emails to sustain us. We are weary but happy, laughing as we eat granola bars and lounge in Brian and Jana’s air-conditioned bedroom. Ah, bliss.

A few quick highlights before I take a shower and collapse.

• We traveled home from the airport in a mini-van with 21 people. No joke. We had children on our laps, on the floor, and layered in the back storage area. An hour later we emerged, a little stiff but no worse for the wear... In fact, I’d say much improved. We were snuggled, kissed, and coddled every moment of the squishy trip.
• Our itinerary meets Emmanuel’s approval. We don’t have much time, but we have lots to do. Beyond lots. It looks like our team will be splitting up and spreading our time between the orphanage, the satellite churches, and the US Embassy. Which leads me to...
• An update about Eve. Julie and Emmanuel are working their tails off to get her a medical visa. And, believe it or not, Emmanuel seems to think that it is a real possibility. We have a laundry list of notarized documents that need to be procured, and it didn’t faze him at all. Keep praying! We want so badly to follow God’s will in this situation.

That’s it for now! Please keep us in your prayers! We are thrilled to be here after such a grueling journey, and hoping that jet lag does not catch up to us tomorrow. There’s no time for jet-lag!

Sending lots of love and hugs from Liberia,
Nicole