To the UK and back

After a humbling end to our trip, we are back home safe & sound. The night before our flight home Steve got sick. He threw up multiple times and neither of us got very much sleep. He had a fever & chills on the plane as well as nausea, fatigue, and a terribly sore throat. When we finally got back to Richmond, he was diagnosed with strep throat. Thankfully Sammy and I did not catch it! And my mom was here helping out for a few days while we all recovered from illness and jet lag. Phew!

Despite all that, we are so thankful for the trip we had! We saw God at work in so many ways. For me personally, I was affirmed in my faith through teaching the daily Bible lesson, and I was filled with joy & passion as I proclaimed that Jesus loves us. Also, I was moved by how God worked through Sam: through the way the team included her and cared for her, through the intentional conversations I was able to have because of her, through the way she shined in her own interactions with people, through the practical ways the Lord provided for us throughout the trip (like our friend Kunchen offering her house close to the church for nap time). The Lord uses the small and weak to show his glory. Wow. I was in awe as Sammy interacted with a boy in Kids Club who has special needs. She smiled, crawled right up to him, pulled up on his walker, stretched her arm out, and they held hands. Just like that. She reminded me in that sweet moment, we're all the same. All of us. Beautiful and needy. Created in God's image, immensely valuable, desperate for grace and mercy, in need of help and faith from the One "who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification."