As Eric mentioned, furlough was hard. Many missionaries we know choose to have a longer "home assignment" of 5-6 months. We have lived in Hawaii for two years, and this was our first trip back to the mainland as a family. Our trip was five weeks, and we packed that month full. We flew over 9,000 miles and drove another 4,000 miles. Our travel days were long (and frequent), and our two littlest travelers found it hard to be strapped to a seat day in and day out. They met more people than they wanted to (about week 2, Justice said, "I can't remember any more names") and missed home like crazy. We spoke to 20 groups and over a thousand people.
But furlough was good. Life-giving, restorative, and encouraging. We told stories of how God is working, where God is leading, and transformation we are witnessing. We met with other missionaries and church planters. We shared our struggles. We were honest about the work God is doing in our own home. We shared our hope for the future.
We were met with loving and caring individuals. People who are praying for us daily. People who can relate, and people who can't. People who have advice, and people who want to hear more. People who were encouraged to hear and see God's movement. People who were challenged by God's call in their present location. People who want to be a missionary-people in their communities. We are so encouraged by the conversations that began.
And in the midst of that, we visited with our families. We were blessed to see the relationships between our kids and our parents come to life. Relationships we've fostered over FaceTime and Skype, but didn't know what they would look like in person. We were grateful for our kids to play with their cousins, and their aunt/uncles. And we were giddy to hug our own brothers/sisters.
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