Transition Day Friday Jan 11, 2008

I'm not overly fond of early mornings. I figure if God wanted people up really early, then He'd have the sun rise earlier to provide light. That's one reason why I was glad I didn't need to leave until 11am from home to return to El Salvador. I'd cried a decent amt during the night- enough that my cat didn't want to sleep with me. Kim was off from work and was going to take me to the airport in Dulles (Washington DC), but kind of at the last min mom joined us too. To be honest, I'm really glad she did. Anyhow, I'd put my luggage in the living room and I was just looking around the house one more time. That's when it hit me, in my bedroom. I leaned forward, hands on my knees, and crying harder than I can remember. I'm pretty much a silent crier, but my mom still found me, walked in and embraced me. My chest was heaving hard as I sobbed. It felt like I would never catch my breath and and tears would never end. This was one of those cried that comes from deep within. I caught sight of Kim in the corner of my eye and waved her towards me. I figured I might as well make it a three-some and soak her too. I don't know how long we cried together...but it seemed like a long time. I don't know how mom got it together to pray over us, but she did. I can never speak when I'm crying.

I bought the house in Jan 15 2001, knowing I would get married and we'd live there the following June. So many emotions tied up in this house! Somehow, I said one last good bye to my home (not just a house), and my cat, and pulled the door shut. As mom pulled out the driveway, she turned on the radio. Want to guess what song was playing? "Friends" by Michael W Smith. Thankfully that song was nearly over. I already felt like I was dehydrated from crying. We made good time getting to the airport. I made some last min changes from my luggage into my carry on to make sure my luggage wasn't too heavy. Per my request, mom and Kim dropped me off at the curb side. Kim helped me get my luggage inside to the correct airline counter, then once last set of goodbyes to them both. I just couldn't do another big scene. I was already exhausted. So, finally, I had all the good-byes behind me and now I could focus on what was ahead. My luggage was allowed to weigh 50 lbs. One weighed 49.6lb and other 50.0, and my bags were put on the conveyer belt and sent on their way. However, when I went through security, my 2 cans of Price Smart size roast beef and 2 cans of turkey (that I had only just moved out of my big suitcase)were frowned upon. Although the cans are clearly sealed like all cans are, they said that there was liquid inside the can. I pleaded and told them my plight of yucky food in the orphanage. Of course, the more they shook the cans, the more they heard the swish of liquid. They determined that the roast beef definitely had more than the approved amt of ounces of liquid, and therefore those cans were thrown in the trash. I guess at least I got to keep my turkey, but I wasn't happy. Oh well, worse things could happen.

I had time to use the last remaining minutes of my USA pre-paid cell phone, so I called mom/Kim and my sister to let them know I was at my gate and all looked well. Fortunately, not only does this airline, TACA, have the least expensive flight to El Salvador, but it's also a direct flight, which is wonderful! The ride itself is only 4.5hr long, but it seemed longer this time. I had an isle seat and there was a 9 month old and his mom just across the isle. I held him at times to give his mom a break. Toward the end of the flight, I found out that his mom was a dentist that lives in San Salvador, and she attends the same church the Benners and I attend. How cool is that. You can be sure I got her card!

Wendy picked me up at the airport, 6:30pm in El Salvador. She updated me on things as we drove back to the Home. I learned that a team of 19 from her Univ. of Texas had just left earlier that AM. And we currently had 3 ladies, student teachers, living in the apt. above me, and another team of 2 other ladies who were there to help do whatever. I was very happy when we finally drove in the gates of the Home. The kids were up the hill in the church for their usual Friday PM devotions. That gave me enough time to call home and let all know that I was fine. The kids charged down the hill and greeted me very warmly....of course the hugs were immediately followed by "Where's Britney and Bobby?" (who had also been on Christmas vacation). They don't get that Ohio and Va aren't next to each other and we don't do absolutely everything together, although it seems that way to them.

I walked into my apartment, not knowing what to expect. I knew I had left it clean. I was hoping for not too much mold since it was dry season and since I'd left my windows open and ceiling fans running to circulate the air. But I stopped dead in my tracks when I entered my apart. The fans were off. A maintenance worker had entered before Christmas to get something, and turned off the fans. It was hard to tell in the dim lights how much of the thick layers on everything were mold and how much were dirt.

The next AM I got a better look at things. Thankfully, it seemed the highest percentage of yuck was dirt, and a LOT of it. Unfortunately, there's a well used dirt road literally right beside my apt., the same side where I keep my windows open. And noramally the flow of air from the fans keeps a good portion of the dirt out. Now, however, not only was the dirt in, but it was into everything. You see, I had opened every single drawer, closet, dresser, end table, kitchen cabinet, desk, etc. I had a layer of yuck in absolutely every possible nook and cranny. My extra bedroom, not used for anything much except storage since I have no closets, had a huge amt of dirt on the floor (see the pic). I could hardly believe the amt! My couch and cushiony chairs were full of it too. I don't really know what to do about this. Beating them will only stir it up and have it land right back where it started. (Note the writing on the arm of the chair)

Oh well, things are now fairly well cleaned up, and I'm glad to be back into some sort of routine.

SPECIAL MEMORIES - HOLIDAYS 2007

****DISCLAIMER******Reading the following blog entry could cause severe boredom or, in some causes, injuries to your face as you fall face first fast asleep onto your keyboard. It may also cause severe eye fatigue because it’s probably the longest blog ever written in modern history. You may even need a day off from work just to get through it all. However, there are some cute pictures.

To be honest, this blog entry is primarily intended to help me remember how blessed I was over the holidays, and to allow me to have a place where I can come again and again to sit and soak in the memories/blessings. And secondly, it’s intended to let some folks know how meaningful they are in my life. It may also give some of you more insights into my character and what things are important to my heart (i.e. my nephews and niece).

Dec 20, 2007-Jan 11, 2008
(Just fyi... "my kids" are nephews Forrest- 7yr old, and Joshua- 5 yr old, and niece Haley- 4 yr old)

SPECIAL MEMORIES

*Falling into my mom’s and Kim’s arms for a wonderful hug at the airport, tears of relief and happiness streaming down my cheeks. There’s just something special about mom hugs.
Being able to wish my mom a happy birthday on the stroke after midnight as we dined at an IHOP on the way from the Dulles airport to Richmond. After all, it was technically Dec 21st, her birthday.

*Meeting with CJ and Susan, my mentors, who encourage and guide me.

*Eating crab legs like there was no tomorrow with my family at a restaurant for mom’s birthday. And Forrest, (7 yr old nephew), with much seriousness saying out of the blue, “DebDeb, do you want a husband?” (Like he had one in his pocket!) After asking my age and hearing that I am 41 years old, he could only manage an “OHHHHHH!” and he didn’t broach the subject again.

*Getting together at Cerena’s house to share precious minutes with good friends.

*Joyously hugging so many friends at my home church. They are such a support to me.

*Walking up to a long time friend at church to say hello and giving him a hug….and again, unexpectedly and suddenly, I started to cry quietly. I guess I didn’t realize how much I missed my friends and how much they mean to me.

*Making a Ginger Bread House with Forrest and Joshua…our first one.

*Playing with Haley, my 4yr old niece, at the park on Christmas Eve afternoon. We played imaginary McDonalds drive-thru for nearly an hour. She loved to be the employee who worked the cash register at the drive thru line and I kept finding reasons to return for more food (grandma wanted chicken nuggets, then g’pa wanted a hamburger, etc.)

*Wapping last min. gifts with my sister Julie at her house on Christmas Eve.

* Helping Tammy, my sister-in-law, set out Christmas on Christmas Eve for the boys.


*Forrest asked if I’d sleep with him in his twin bed on Christmas Eve. I told him I didn’t know if there was enough room, however, I promised him that if there was any room when it was time for me to go to bed, then I'd join him. Sure enough, I found Forrest sound asleep and flat as a board on the far side of his bed. Plenty of room for me. That’s love for his Aunt DebDeb…and I was touched. But I still want to know is how did his bony little rear end know when I got into bed, and then somehow manage to scoot itself right over to me so that he could snuggle? I couldn’t have been happier.

*The traditional Christmas breakfast with all my family at my mom’s house, followed by a few minutes of insanity as the kids tore through their Christmas gifts. This picutre is of Haley with one of her favorite gifts....one from g'pa and g'ma...a Barbie electric guitar. And the hat is Haley's gift to her mom.






*My favorite Christmas gift: a pillow case with all the kids hand prints outlined with special fabric paint, and this poem created by Tammy: “As you lay upon this pillow tonight…remember these hands that hug you tight.” This gift and poem was created by Tammy.

*Town-house hunting with Kim. Honest, I really enjoyed being able to spend time with her doing this.









*Spending time with my sister Julie as we (mostly she) made a wonderful ham casserole, including egg noodles that we made from scratch.





*Finding an empathetic manager at Staples that allowed me to trade in my non-working digital camera for a new upgraded model, at no additional cost!



*The annual informal Christmas gathering at my Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Edwards house. I love being able to catch up with so many people at once. Their hospitality/work allows for a wonderful family tradition and many hugs and stories. Last year at this same event, Mary (my closest cousin), announced that she was finally pregnant. I was thrilled then, but even more thrilled now as I got to see handsome 6 mo old baby Isaiah, now nearly 6 months old. And I also got to see Joyce’s (my cousin- Mary’s sister) 2 month old beautiful baby girl, Sabella. Quite a joyous occasion. Their pictures now grace my wall.



*Spending New Years Eve with special friends….and having a special time of sharing and prayer with those friends in the first minutes of the New Year.







* Spending time with my small group on New Years Day as we watched football, played games and passed around our newest (and most handsome) member, baby Henry James, born 10-14-07. He snuggled right up to me and fell asleep in my arms. How precious! His magnet picture is on my frig.




*Wed Jan 2nd… a day with all my kids. We started our day at a local park….but it was quite cold and windy, and few flakes of snow were falling. Joshua declared he’d had enough and headed for the car….the rest of us followed. Happened to pass Dad driving down the rode, so we flagged him down and asked him to join us for bowling. Julie had already agreed to join us. We had so much fun bowling! It was all Haley could do to get the ball down the lane. For a change I actually broke 100…thanks to the railings (created for kids) that kept the ball from going into the gutters. Then we all did Pizza Hut. Then I took the kids to see Alvin and the Chipmunks at the local theater. Then we stopped so I could see and visit where my sister Heidi works (an outdoors sporting goods store). Then we headed home….Aunt DebDeb was pooped and ready to return the kids to their rightful owners.

*Kim’s homemade meatloaf and mashed potatoes…..oh my gosh! Can’t dwell on this…..got to move on!

*Visit with Sweet Pea… (my pet name for a wonderful, sweet, kind, prayer warrior that’s really named Emma). I so value her friendship.

*Eating BBQ and sharing my heart with my good friend Cerena. She has a knack for listening and encouraging. She does my heart good.

*Visiting with Bob Wilton. The next time I see him I’m looking forward to a big hug.

*Being received so warmly by people who still work at some of my previous places of employment.

*Sharing a Coke and stories with Gail and Kim at a McDonalds.

*Spending time with Kim and my brother and his family at his house as we watched Virginia Tech play in the Orange Bowl. Better yet….watching Virginia Tech get beat and eating Tammy’s good chili.

*Snuggling with my boys on their bottom bunk bed as Forrest read the bedtime story, “There are Monsters Everywhere”. (Notice that Joshus is "holding" the flashlight.) This absolutely ranked in my top 5 most valued memories.

*Visiting with Evelyn (a lady Kim and I consider to be our grandmother) in her house. We have so many wonderful memories with her as our neighbor. But times moves on, and she is now selling her house and Kim is moving too.

*Time with Kim….every minute of time to talk and share our lives face to face was an extreme gift. Tears flowed freely….and still do as I remember those precious moments.

*One particular night….a special night…I was sitting in my usual spot on the recliner couch….Kim on her usual spot on the other end. The Christmas tree seemed particularly pretty, each ornament a memory, and its lights reflecting off the window beside it. From the other window, I could see my small outdoor Christmas tree with white lights . I'm fond of that tree. My Christmas Village collection was in it's normal spot. (Kim put out all the Christmas decorations alone this year.) Tripp, my cat that I love dearly, was purring in my lap. All was right with my world for those few precious, secure-feeling moments. I tried hard to soaked it all in and intentionally remember the moment, taking mental pictures, although my eyes stung with tears. I knew my house would soon be empty of our things and renters would fill our spots. My heart ached. I knew this was a special moment…probably my most precious moment…and I knew it would never be the same again.

*Time to laugh and share with Jen and Jamie in their new home. What a blessing they are to me!
**********Warning…this is extra long. You may want to take a break before continuing. OK, here goes...I will remember Sunday Jan 6th for a long time to come…and the word “Embrace” will be attached to that memory. I was at my home church, West End Assembly of God, and Pastor John was most of the way through praying for those with urgent needs, medical needs, general congrational needs, and we were praying for a family (standing up front) who were about to leave for the mission field. Then, Pastor John uncharacteristically suddenly stopped in the middle of the prayer and called out my name. He said he was remiss at not asking me to come up front for prayer with the others, but now asked me to do so. He asked elders, deacons, etc to encircle me for prayer. Oh my…I’ve never heard so many people gather around me to pray. I knew my sister-like friend Vanessa was on one side, Fred, a beloved pastor was on the other, and mentor Susan was near by.…but there were so many other voices all calling out to Our Lord on my behalf. It was an amazing and humbling experience that I will cherish for a very long time. I felt like I was hugged by God Himself. As if that wasn’t enough…almost at the end of the church service, I was tapped on the shoulder and asked to step outside into the hallway because someone wanted to see me. There was a vaguely familiar face of a Latin looking lady a little younger than myself. She said she heard that there was someone heading to her home country of El Salvador, and she wanted to meet that person. But what we didn’t know until we were face-to-face was that we had met years ago here church. I had befriended her, a stranger, several years ago as I found her crying in the hallway before an evening service. I’d always been sorry I hadn’t kept up much with her after that encounter. And now, much to our surprise, we were together again. How cool! Another embrace. I had even become somewhat unaware of the floods of people passing by us in the hallway as the service had ended. Then, I realized there was a line…literally….of people waiting to say hello and embrace for a moment. A line! Can you imagine that! I was astounded to say the least. One glorious embrace after another. And at the very end of the line, dear friends Su and Denny were there…patiently waiting… to share a moment and an amazing time of prayer. What a send off…what an embrace…what a gift. Definitely in my top 5.

*Pot Roast with potatoes, onions and carrots from the crock pot…whew wee…need I say more?

*Raking leaves all day with my dad, exchanging thoughts as we worked. I love spending time outdoors with my dad.

*I only spent 5 years as a Nurse Manager at Home Care Connection, but somehow the staff during that time really molded together and formed fast bonds that to this day are still in existence. I’m crazy about every one of them! On Monday 1/7/08, 15 people (13 previous co-workers plus 2 others) showed up at our favorite Mexican hang out to reconnect, laugh, tell stories, and hug. We had a great time together.

*Tuesday 1/8/08 Forrest had his first ever basketball game. He made one point making a foul shot. Go Tigers! Ironically, my very first rec. basketball team, like Forrest's, wore orange, and my # (like his) was also #13. After the game I had to say goodbye to Forrest and my brother. I was glad to get that past me. And I was terribly sad to know that I wouldn’t get a change to see any of Joshua’s wresting matches or any more of Forrest’s games. They had become so accustomed to me always being there. When people talk about missionaries making sacrifices….these are the sort of things I think of.

*A practical gift from God. “ Keens” is the name brand of a type of rugged sandal. They’re very expensive (about $95), known for their high quality, durability, and currently out of season since it’s winter. I’d purchased something similar about 8 months ago and found that it was perfect for the work I was doing and perfect for the climate. Unfortunately, they were again falling apart (they were not Keens) and I’d already had them sewn up twice. I’d been looking for Keens the entire time I was at home, and even looked for used Keen’s online. Just 3 days before I was to leave, I walked into a store that I normally avoid due to high prices, and there they were. The exact correct size, style and color of Keens that I wanted, on sale for ½ off! Now that’s a gift from God. I’m wearing them right now and I wear them every day.

*Eating pancakes and sharing stories with my new but dear friend Linda Crampton.

*An evening of wine, cheese, crackers, good conversation, good friends, good memories.

*A quick but special lunch with my sister Julie and the local Prince George County hang out.

*One last haircut given to me free of charge by a good friend before I returned to the tropical climate of El Salvador.

*A steak dinner at Topekas with 2 close friends…just trying to squeeze every possible minute out of my last hours at home….and savoring every bit of it.

*On my last full day at home, I stayed at home packing. Trying to decide what would stay and what would go, and what things could I box up for the impending move. But most of all, I wanted to free up my last night so that I could enjoy my time with my best friend, my cat, and house. I knew it would be the last time I’d ever enjoy it like this again. To say it was painful and emotional isn’t even close. The tears that are flowing freely down my cheeks at this very moment attest to that fact.

Thank you to all my family and friends who make my life so special. And a big thanks to God Himself, who loves me extravagantly.