Virginia is for Best Friends

Congratulations if you've kept up with my entire home service journey; you've made it to my last stop. 

Part of home service is resting and recharging, so I flew to Virginia to spend a few days with my best friend Marie, her husband Philip, and their three kids in Williamsburg, sans presentations. Some people you don't know how you became friends with. For Marie & I it's the opposite, and we have our sophomore English teacher to thank. He paired us together for a debate about cloning (no idea who was on which side or who won), and we've been inseparable since. 

The NL Wild Card game was the night I got there. Ned (4), my godson, donned his Cardinals shirt and got to stay up for the first few innings. I donned my Cardinals socks - which Ned insisted be in the picture - and watched the Cardinals lose in a painful bottom of the ninth inning.

With my team eliminated, I had zero plans for the next few days. It was blissful: morning runs on the Virginia Capital Trail, playing with and reading to Ned and his sisters (2 yrs. and 7 mos., respectively), The Great British Baking Show (on Netflix US but not Netflix Latinoamérica), Bible study with Marie & Philip and another couple on three of The Screwtape Letters, helping sort through hand-me-down toys, and lots of a game called Splendor. 

Oh and I organized Marie's kitchen closet. Yes I will do yours next time I stay with you and love every minute of it.

My last day in the US began with worship at King of Glory (KoG) Lutheran Church. It was a joy to be back at a congregation that showered me with undeserved love and hospitality when I visited in 2018. 

Funny story about this picture: KoG's preschool director approached me as communion was winding down and said Pastor Harmon wanted a picture. I told her no problem. But, the service ended, I got distracted talking to a couple that planned on taking Marie's entire family and I to lunch, and you can see where this is going. The deli we had picked for lunch was closed, and as we scrambled to make a plan B, I remembered. The couple graciously ran me back, and Pastor hadn't left yet :)

Rocking the matching KoG theme T-shirts from a few years back. 

#reallife: it's hard to get three children under 5 yrs. to look at the camera and smile at the same time. Or one of them, for that matter.

Nina is the most easygoing baby you'll ever meet. 

Cheers to 19 years of friendship and counting!

I alluded to this in a previous post, but it takes a special person to get up at 4 am and drive you to the airport on zero notice! Williamsburg is about an hour from the Richmond airport, from which my 7 am flight to Miami and then on to Santiago departed. So as to minimally disrupt Marie & Philip's routine, I planned on taking an Uber. I had checked the app a couple times when we were up late (~11 pm) or I had gotten up early to run (~6:30), and both times there was a driver ~15 min. away. The morning of my flight though...nada. I quick made a Lyft account, called multiple taxi companies and got no answer, and finally, knocked on Marie & Philip's door.

The rest of my trip home was uneventful. I unpacked the afternoon I got back because I'm that kind of person and have spent the previous two weeks settling back into the rhythm of life here and processing my time in the US. I'm pondering a home service wrap-up blog or two, and you can be certain I'll keep the stories & photos of daily life and ministry coming, too. 

Until next time, blessings!