Floods, Flights, Flu, Friends, Funerals...

I mentioned before that the month of January didn't go exactly as planned.  After New Year's we planned to settle into our home for a few weeks before beginning some of our HMA travel.  Well, the trips happened, but the moments planned for those trips didn't go as we'd originally expected, intended, or hoped.

On January 1, just days before his 91st birthday, my grandpa, Bob Kissling, passed from this world into the next.  Rather than visiting Grandpa Bob in San Diego, we attended his funeral.

First stop in CA:  In'N'Out Burger!

We spent our first night at our good friends' house in LA.  

Judah and Evelyn share a middle name with their Pennsylvania roots. 

On January 16, 2018 33 of the 51 Kissling family members from all over the country gathered to celebrate Grandpa Bob's long, well-lived life.

While we were sad to have missed seeing Grandpa, it was a blessing to see so many other family members that we would not have seen otherwise!  Judah loved meeting so many great-aunts and uncles and second cousins - especially the ones who played with him outside. 

We only had 2 full days in CA, and the last was spent with Jordan and Judah catching the flu.  Fortunately, we were able to go to a park right on the water to enjoy a bit of the CA sunshine despite the sickness.

From CA we flew to CO.  We were looking forward to connecting with a few people that we haven't seen in more than 5 years (we only had 2 days - but don't worry, CO friends, we're planning to be back sometime later this year!); unfortunately, the flu caused all of our get-togethers to be canceled - except Jordan's cousin, Corrie, who braved the germs and met Judah and me at a café.

Our primary purpose of going to CO at this specific time (despite being 34 weeks pregnant!) was for GEM's Home Ministry Renewal (HMR) Retreat.  We were especially grateful to attend this particular HMR with our dearest GEM France friends, Micah and Andrea Heath.  (Perhaps you remember them.  We went to our pre-field training together in 2012 and moved within an hour of each other in France within a few months.  Their friendship has been such a huge blessing these last 5 years!  They began their HMA in the Pacific Northwest in September; we were so glad to be reunited with them and their 2 boys in CO!)

HMR is a time for GEM missionaries to connect with one another - others who "get it", debrief with licensed counselors, and take care of administrative tasks at the home office.  We each took 5 minutes to share about our ministries with the staff during their weekly staff meeting.  

Repeatedly we were told that HMR was for us.  The Member Care team took such great care of us!  We needed infant tylenol for sick kids?  They got it.  We had a hankering for a particular snack, it was found on the snack table a few hours later.  We needed to rest rather than attend one of the scheduled sessions?  No problem!

They took care of us and our kids, leading us in helpful discussions to process the last several years of life and ministry abroad, while allowing space for us to simply rest and relax and enjoy time together with new and old friends.

On our free day, we chose to go with two other families to the Denver Children's Museum and the Cheesecake Factory - all financed by the GEM Member Care.  What a treat!

On our last day, as we'd all finally been healthy for several days, we were able to have lunch with one of my very first friends in CO and meet her husband and their 6 week old son.  It was a treat as we'd had to cancel with them at the beginning of our time in CO.  (We also got to see one other couple with whom we'd canceled plans with; they met us at the retreat center for a quick visit, but we neglected to take a photo.)

We had intended to return to PA and spend a few days with the Kissling family in Enon Valley, but while we were in CO, on January 21, 2018, one month after his 90th birthday, Jordan's grandpa, Cork Egli, passed from this world into the next.  We were grateful to be back in PA for his funeral.

On January 27, 2018 many people gathered to celebrate the life of Grandpa Egli.  Being an evangelist until his last days; Jordan laughed with his dad and said, "Well, we know one question Grandpa isn't asking in Heaven:  Do you know the Lord?" Once again, we were sad to not have seen Grandpa before he passed (darn sickness!), but we were thankful to have seen so many other family members as a result of Grandpa's death.  (If my calculations are correct, 44 of the 55 Eglis were present - impressive!)

So there you have it.  January didn't go as we'd anticipated, but it was good nonetheless.  Minus the flu.  And the major leak in our apartment.  And the broken lock on our door.  But now all of the walls are repaired, the house has been deep cleaned, after 6 straight weeks of sickness we are healthy, and after 3 entire weeks in our house we are finally feeling settled and more at home.  We're finding a rhythm for our family between Jordan's seminary classes, connecting with local churches and supporters, and reminding Judah that daily naps aren't optional.

Dare we say that we're ready for Bébé Baguette #2 to join our family?!

This photo was taken last week...
I'm now nearing 39 weeks! Ahh!