It never occurred to me that I would have a layover in the States, but by the grace of God, I had the opportunity to return home to America for 20 hours when we were transitioning from South America to Africa.
My entire time in America was perfect, refreshing, and honestly blew me away.
We landed in snow-covered Washington, D.C. and it looked like straight out of a movie. To be greeted by my fellow squadmates’ parents, siblings, and friends, made me feel right at home. I was showered with hugs, cookies, introductions, and gifts.
After dropping off 11 pounds of gear to ship home (holla!), we made our way into the city.
I had five items checked off my bucket list within hours. I experienced winter weather for the first time in the U.S., I was in D.C., and I visited the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and the White House.
To be with my sisters Tobes and Margs, spending time sightseeing and enjoying our little gift was a true blessing.
Tobes boyfriend, Jordan, was with us, along with his friend, Dan, and Dan’s girlfriend, Jess. Dan and Jess were so hospitable and giving that I’m still trying to wrap my mind around it.
From driving us around everywhere, to patiently waiting for us as we explored the city, to bringing sweaters for us since we weren’t prepared for the cold weather, to treating us to dinner, to allowing us to have a place to rest our heads, to having a homemade breakfast ready before 4 a.m., to heating up the car so that it was warm when we went back to the airport, I could seriously go on and on about their generous and humble hospitality. To top it all off, I received a care package from home, along with letters from Christmas time.
I’m still blown away at the kindness and love I received at home. It was the perfect thing I needed before coming to Africa.
I didn’t realize how much I would take away from my short time in America. It’s wonderful to love on orphans in South America, or to preach in Africa, but we can still show Jesus’ love to each other back home too.
In this season of my life, I know I was called to be sent. But I would encourage you all back home, that you can still make a huge difference in someone’s life. Many people touched my life in such a short amount of time.
Maybe in this season of your life you weren’t called to be overseas, but supporting missionaries, whether it’s through prayer, kind words, hospitality, or financially, is both humbling and uplifting. It gave me a whole new perspective on helping others do God’s work around the world.
My challenge is for all of us to do God’s work and support each other whether it’s back in the U.S. or somewhere around the world.
