One morning, a little over a week ago now, we woke up at Dark-thirty, left our sweet little abode, little boys, little Smudge, and the light of our chicky coop glowing with its heat lamps, stepped into the airport by 5:00 a.m. and then flew cross country to the other side of the good old U.S. of A...
We saw the sun rise from up in the sky, watched until the houses were covered in clouds, and then settled in for a full day of flying, layovers, mucho reading and games of Cribbage whilst we waited, and many (many!) cups of coffee.
The flight out was really no big deal. It was pretty much a straight shot. We did lose three hours with the time change, but we arrived feeling pretty rested. It was the flight home that was a bit of a doozy. Before we even took off the ground, we sat on our plane for two hours because there was something on the plane that needed fixing. So, needless to say, the entire airline missed their connection in Michigan. Good old Delta put us up for the night and gave us a couple of meal vouchers. But the pain in the neck was that they couldn't get us a flight home until 8:00 the next night.
Well, that wouldn't do, because we'd already been away from our boys for a little over a week, and neither of us felt a great urge to whittle our day away wandering around the Michigan airport. So, Kevy found us a flight that would have us home by 6:00 - the only kicker being we'd have to switch airlines and go through security all over again in New York - with only about 45 minutes to do all of this.
We were sprinting from one connection to the other, racing through security, and running full tilt to find our gate. Thankfully, our connecting flight was running a wee bit late, so we made it with time to spare. I totally felt like we were on the Amazing Race. It was very exciting.
Anyway, back to California.
The land of sunshine and oranges.
And mountains for their backyards.
I'm pretty sure I ate about ten fresh oranges every day that I was out there. I just couldn't get over it. They have orange trees like we have apple trees. Seeing as how I have only seen an orange tree one other time in my life, whenever I saw one laying on the ground, I promptly picked it up, peeled it, and ate it right there on the spot.
The natives thought I was crazy, but I told them that they were crazy for not making freshed squeezed orange juice every. day. of. their. lives. Heaven in a cup, man. They also had grapefruit, pomegranate, avocado, and lemon trees everywhere surrounding the campus. Garden of Eden, Baby.
While it's their winter right now, and many walk around with jackets on in the mornings, and some even wear boots during the day because it's "chilly," for us Maine-ers, the mornings felt like a crisp early spring day, and the afternoons heated up to a lov-O-ly 75 degrees, which is a beautifully fine summer day for us. So, there were no complaints here. But no takers from anyone out there to take us to the beach, either. "It's WINTER you guys!! Are you CRAZY? We don't go to the beach in the winter?!?!!"
While most of our time was actually spent inside in various and sundry meetings from morning until night, our last day there we did get to go and play in their mountains. We went on a sweet little hike about five minutes away from campus up to a beautiful little waterfall.
I was on a quest, per Kaden's request, for a little lizard to bring home. I figured if I actually managed to catch one, I could smuggle it home in my carry-on. Kevy wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as I was, but it never became an issue because we never saw one. I settled on some candy for him instead. Both boys were fine with the compromise. No where near as exciting, but one less cage to clean, I guess.
It was encouraging and refreshing - and a little overwhelming, to be honest - to be around so many crazy, sold out Kingdom thinkers. Out there, we were swallowed up in different cultures, edgy creativity, and people who aren't afraid to take risks and who aren't afraid to fail. Ralph Winter, the founder of the organization once said: "Risks are not to be determined in the probability of success but by the value of the goal. I am willing to fail." He was a brilliant man who was ahead of his time, and he bridged the two worlds of Academia and Practician. He was a thinker and a do-er. An innovator and an activist.
The U.S. Center for World Mission is not a sending agency. Rather, it's a Think Tank for identifying barriers and pursuing solutions toward Kingdom breakthrough. Questions they are always asking are: Where are the gaps? What's NOT being done? What's not working? And is there a better way to do what we're already doing?
Someone else once said: "Never do things others can or will do, if there are things you could do that others can't or won't do."
I love that.
I love being a part of that.
And I love expanding my world, getting fresh perspective, and being reminded that it's okay to take risks. It's okay to do things that other people might question or not understand. It's okay to try new things, to seek out new solutions, and to maybe do things that might seem a little edgy to others. And the funny thing is, what might be considered edgy and crazy way up here in Maine, is per the usual out there in Southern California. That brings with it a measure of comfort and confidence, as well.
In some ways, I felt a little like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz being swallowed up in culture and differences and brilliant ideators. That place truly is a "think tank" in every sense of the word. There is no "one way" of doing anything out there!
One tiny example is the way all of the missionaries approach schooling their children. There are two International Schools right on campus. One uses the Sonlight Curriculum, as it was birthed out of that organization, while the other is a completely organic, creative, totally out of the box three day a week schooling approach. Some families homeschool. Some send their kids to a Chinese immersion school a few miles away. Some do a combination of homeschooling and regular school. And some do something different for each one of their kids. The options are really limitless, and everyone does what it right for their own family. I love that.
So....it was an encouraging week. It was challenging and eye opening. And it was nice to actually spend a few days with our family from afar. Who knows what the future holds for us - whether we'll find ourselves out there someday or not. I honestly have no idea what the Lord has in store for our little family.
In the meantime, I am also loving being back home in po-dunk Maine and seeking to expand the Kingdom in my own little sphere of influence right here in my backyard. Striving to hold loosely, to listen well, and to truly see....
It's all good....
