SIX YEARS AGO TODAY - August 23, 2006 -- I got off the plane in Birmingham, AL, having spent the previous four years in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador as a Southern Baptist missionary. I was alone. Steve needed to stay another month, but I had a teaching job waiting and had to get started.
The International Mission Board is a superior missionary-sending agency. I would not want to go to the field under any other umbrella. They are THE BEST at providing for the needs of missionaries and their families, for training and know-how in the area of language and culture acquisition, and they understand how to get THE job done -- spreading the Gospel.
However, once you are off "the field," you are not coddled or babied in any way. The skills of flexibility, independence, assertiveness, and self-motivation that are vital for survival in other countries are put to further use when you leave. In other words, you are on your own.
I wish someone had made my picture when I stepped off that plane. If there was ever an example of a human being with a "deer in the headlights" look, I was it. If ever a person needed for God to provide moment-by-moment guidance and grace through the dear friends He had given me, I was that person. I had 10 days to take care of very basic, but critical needs -- transportation, a place to live, clothes, reconnecting with family, doing everything required for starting my job, and just figuring out how to survive in my homeland -- the good ol' U.S. of A. -- that had changed unbelievably in four short years.
Transportation. Daughter Laura picked me up at the airport in the car that had been found and bought through our friends Hugo and Cindy Estes. When is the last time you bought a car solely on internet pictures and money transfers? Obviously, we trusted Hugo's knowledge about cars implicitly, and he didn't let us down. Thanks again, friend.
A Place to Live. Laura and David let me crash on their couch and hug their four-month-old son Nathan that first night, but the next morning I got on the road to Decatur toward a one-bedroom, furnished apartment that my friend Virginia Smith had helped me to get by making calls and handling the deposit. It was even smaller than I had anticipated -- I joked later that I could cook supper and flush the commode at the same time -- but it was a nest where I could "be" in those critical first days. A trip to Wal-Mart took care of the essentials that were lacking and some food. I started to breathe without hyperventilating.
Phone and Internet. Next stop was the Verizon store to buy and activate a cell phone, and then back to the apartment to wait very anxiously for the Charter guy to hook up my internet. That, folks, was CRITICAL. 1) Because that would be my primary way to communicate with Steve (oh, how I was missing him) and 2) I was taking 2 on-line classes through Athens State in order to renew my teaching certificate. I had actually started those classes while I was still in Quito and didn't want to miss a single assignment -- Type A person that I am. I must mention here that I can't imagine what would have happened if Martine Bates Sharp and Virginia Smith had not been in my life during the last weeks in Ecuador and the first weeks in Alabama. I will forever be in their debt for all they did to make my job and the transition back possible.
Reconnecting with Family. I saw Laura immediately and knew it would still be another month before I'd see Matt, but I also had a brand new son-in-law to meet on my first whole day back. Julie and Brian married 5 days before I flew home (a story for another time). Steve and I had talked to him by phone, but that was it. They, along with granddaughter Allie, picked me up on Thursday night and took me to dinner. As you might imagine, it was a little awkward to see your daughter's husband for the first time AFTER he's already a member of the family, but hey, he was (and is) a genuinely nice guy and loves Julie deeply. What more could I ask? Right? And, to add to his list of good qualities, he's now the father of 4 more of my grandchildren with another on the way. :) (Again, a story for another time). It was a few more weeks before I got to see my Dad and my siblings, but at least we were back within easy phone contact by now.
Clothes. After wearing basically the same clothes for the whole four years and after losing a good bit of weight from healthy eating -- fruit, vegetables, almost nothing processed, etc., I gave all of my Ecuador clothes to the nuns who lived next door to us in Quito and brought only a few basic pieces in my suitcase to the States. Once again, my friend Cindy Estes helped me by getting one of her friends to help me put together a basic teaching/living wardrobe on Friday of that first week. Julie, Allie, Laura, and Nathan joined in for this excursion, so a lot of tension-relieving laughter was added to the mix.
My Job. God's intervention to provide for Steve and me was so evident when it came to this job. Steve had sold his vet practice before we left, and I had resigned from my teaching position through Morgan County Schools. How were we going to pay our bills? And, even MORE importantly, how were we going to be able to get health insurance?? The music/art teacher at Priceville Elementary took a leave of absence. Dr. Anne Knowlton, the principal, is a long-time friend who knew of my dilemma and offered me the job. Hallelujah -- a salary AND insurance. Then, some friends at Central Baptist knew of a veterinarian in Decatur who needed to take a maternity leave from her practice and wanted a veterinarian to keep it going. Steve was coming to the States at the exact time she needed to take that leave. Folks, I do not believe in coincidences.
The Board of Education allowed me to begin teaching the day after Labor Day, 2006, so once I had food, shelter, transportation, clothing, phone and internet, I worked like crazy to get my classroom ready for those first classes. Ten days after getting off that plane I began the process of instructing 600+ students and meeting a staff full of co-workers.
Today has brought all of those memories rushing back. It was an amazing time, and once again, I am grateful to God and to the wonderful people who showed love and demonstrated true friendship just when I needed it most.
This was my school picture made on September 20, 2006. I still look at little stunned, don't I? And, did I mention that I also got a new haircut? :)
An absolute truth for you to claim: "And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19 Amen. Amen.
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