Re-entry, Work, and Dreams




Back to work. Not much time for rest or recovery from jet lag. We got up bright and early Monday morning and headed off to school and work (except for Don, who had the luxury of one day off left.) The first day was not too bad—I guess it was still the exhilaration of our experience that was still coursing through our veins… but the next day… oh my. Not good.

Tired child, tired parents, and way too much work to do. We stumbled through the next week just trying to be patient with one another and not say or do anything we might regret for too long. Marla came down with a serious cold about 4 days after our return and went from tired and crabby to tired, sick and crabby. On Saturday afternoon, she and her Dad were standing in the kitchen and she was begging for some goodie out of the pantry… Dad was doing his best to ignore her entreats and finally snapped. “Marla,” he said. “It’s not going to happen. You cannot have it.” Normally our little girl is relatively compliant and can be rerouted if one is clever, but this day she’d had it. Tired, Sick, and Crabby kicked in. Putting her hands on her hips, feet akimbo, and scowling her most ferocious scowl, she looked straight at her Dad and said, “I’m going to turn you into a different color!” Then stalked off to her room.

Wow… a different color. That’s pretty harsh! Fortunately she hasn’t figured out how to pull it off, although I do take a quick look at Don when I get home from work most days, just to be sure.

The next four weeks passed rather blurrily, with the fatigue slowly receding. I can hardly believe we’ve been home a month. The images from our trip keep replaying in my mind, and the faces of the people we met and care for are still vivid. I’ve been keeping up with the few who speak English via email, and keep the others before me in pictures so that I might pray for them when I see them. Please Lord, let us return to see these dear people again. Until then, we’ll work at our jobs, go to school, and love those the Lord has given us to love here at home.

Speaking of those at home, we’re gathering together as a Missions team in two weeks for a Turkish meal. It will be so much fun to be together, reminisce, look at pictures, and eat great food. The only thing that would make it even more fun would be if our brothers and sisters from the church in Alabama could join us. We’ll certainly be thinking of them as we give thanks.

Until then, it’s work as usual. Teaching Middle and High School music and church work for me, Firefighting for Don, and School for Marla will fill our days and evenings. Add to that the schedules of our two grown sons, Daniel and Sam, and there is very little down time. The cool thing is, we feel slightly Turkish now. The music of the country plays in our home, and as we go to sleep each night, the demands of the week play through our minds underscored by hauntingly beautiful melodies, visions of golden mountains, exotic cities, the ruins of Greek and Roman civilizations where the apostle Paul took the Gospel, Christian Symbols carved into the marble streets and columns, and the faces of those we fell in love with while there.