Optimistic Packers

Well, it's been a couple of weeks since we updated this, and even longer since we put out a new episode of the podcast (hold tight, a new one is coming soon!).

We're now in Dallas, TX. We've been here for about 10 days. My wife, if you didn't know, has some really bad allergies. She's been seeing a doctor about them everyday, and hopefully this will be a huge help as we head on out of the US of A. We think it could work out great! We're now only a month from leaving. We've gotten some great news in the last two days about support, and we're nearly at the point we need to be to think about buying plane tickets (95% and we're at 92.5%, picking up about 6% in the last couple of days alone!). Of course, we still need our visa, and we're trying our hardest working on that too. We'll have to wait and see how things pan out.

If you could, be in prayer for us and our families. Our lives are pretty well planned out with non-stop things to do all the way up till about 2 weeks before we leave. If possible in those two weeks, we want to hang out with our families and with our friends as much as possible. Of course, we'll have to pack in that time too, and my wife thinks that will take us a whole week. (I think it will only take 2 days, but I'm forever optimistic on these things, and she's forever pessimistic on these things. Of course, it pays off to be a pessimist on packing in particular, because when it takes longer than the two days I expected, I'll get frustrated, and she'll be able to say, "I told you to be more realistic." Of course, she won't say that, she'll just look at me and wait for me to calm down. Amazing.)

Anyway, we miss you all and hope we get the chance to run into you soon. We wish we had more time, but at the same time, I think we're just about ready to get going. We love you all.

Later guys,

Matt

Grief and Joy

Hey everybody. Sorry it's been so long. We've now returned to Illinois after our time in the SPLICE program. This was a program focused on helping us to survive the stresses of working in a culture different from our home. I would tell you all about it, but to be honest a lot of it was overshadowed by the beginning of our last week there.

The beginning of our last week was supposed to be our time to look at grief and loss, two common things we will experience as we leave our families and friends for an extended amount of time. We had no idea how real our time focused on these things would be. On Sunday, about a week and a half ago, some of our friends in the SPLICE program were traveling to hear a speaker in Denver. Heather and I were to go with them but I got sick that Saturday night and couldn't go. On the drive up, the van was involved in a terrible accident. Two of our adult friends were killed instantly, Jessica (21 years old) and Karin (42 from South Africa). The other 4 in the van were taken to area hospitals. 1 of the 4 was a 17-month boy, one of the cutest little boys we have ever seen. We'd gotten to know him and his parents (also in the van) very well over the previous month. By 12:30 AM Monday, he had also died. His name was Isaac.

This really was my first time losing anyone close, not from old age. I struggled with guilt from feeling like it should have been us in the van, not Jessica and Karin, and anger about how Scott and Andrea have to deal with the loss of their beautiful boy, and joy about Jessica and Karin and Isaac being taken from the pain and sin of this world. What a paradox.

In the end, SPLICE was a time for us to learn how to grieve well in community. It was incredible how this group of people came together in sadness and joy, honored our friends who were killed, and prayed for our friends who have a very hard road ahead. We still lift them up to God in prayer.

Scott has now been discharged from the hospital. He stays in Denver to care for his wife, Andrea. She is still in critical condition but is showing improvement everyday. Em, the 6th person in the van, is doing incredible. She has moved out of ICU, and is now able to walk around some, talk, and even type with one hand. It really is a miracle how they have come through this.

We praise God for the hearts He has given His people - hearts that experience joy and grief and sadness and anger and hope all at the same time. We thank Gd for our new friends who we are closer than ever to because of our shared experience. We praise God for the lives of the 2 women who are now with Him. And we praise God for Isaac who brought so much joy to everyone around him during his 17 months here on earth.

We're back in IL now, trying to finish things up, including visas and budgets and goodbyes. Crazy to think we're only about a month out. We love you all!

Later guys,
Matt