Tales from Furlough - Week 1

We're about 10 days into our 7-week stay here in the U.S., and wow, has it been great to be here.

Let's go over a few of the highlights so far:

- English worship. We've been to two churches: Victory of the Lamb in Katy, TX, and Christ our Redeemer in El Paso, TX. Mike had the chance to preach at both of these places, and he also gave a presentation at each one. Going through the liturgy in English, and singing some of our favorite hymns in our native language is always a special blessing for us.

- Congregational support. We are continually thankful for the way congregations like the ones we visited show such a strong interest in mission work. Many advances in the work in Mexico have been made during the last years as a direct result of their prayers and offerings.

- Smooth roads! Somehow I forgot how big of a difference it makes to drive down non-potholed roads for long stretches of time. The Interstates here are amazing, and something I'm thankful for (also, our children are complaining less of carsickness, which could perhaps be due to less bumping and jolting as we travel for long periods of time).

- Sweater weather. In Mexico, we live in a wonderfully moderate climate: highs between 70 and 80F, lows around 50 and 60 nearly year round. But I have to say, as we travel north (we're dividing our furlough time between the Southwest and Midwest) it's really fun to bundle up.

- Snow! Along the same lines, we're having fun introducing our kids (or in the case of Trinity, reintroducing) to snow.

- U.S. niceties. We've been having fun going to the grocery stores and picking out foods like dill pickles and snack mix to eat - lots of treats to enjoy!