...and to all a good night!
True to my word in my December newsletter (with a couple of additions since), I give you my 2020...in beds.
I'd like to preface this by saying it was supposed to be more exciting. I was supposed to spend many a night on a bunk in Jamaica and Peru with short-term teams. I was supposed to join the rest of the LAC missionaries at our regional conference in Punta Cana. I was supposed to stay with many of you while traveling the country on furlough. I was supposed to help host a conference in Spain.
But I can't. All I can do is trust that, in His infinite wisdom, there is a reason that the Lord did not ordain for me to do any of those things. All I can do is echo David's words in Psalm 4:8:
In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
Praise the Lord that in each of the places I lay down and slept in the past year, He made me dwell in safety. I also dwelled in comfort, on account of some incredible hospitality. To those who figure into the vignettes that follow, thank you. And now without further ado, in order...
My parents' basement | Kirkwood, MO
These were my digs for about three weeks last December/January as I spent the Christmas season with friends and family in St. Louis.
Camp Concordia | Banana Bank, Belize
The members of the LAC regional team were some of the first guests at this beautiful facility adjacent to the Burches' property as we gathered for a biannual meeting.
Hampton by Hilton Santo Domingo Airport | Santo Domingo, DR
Leaving Belize, the DR contingent flew into Santo Domingo instead of Santiago, arriving late at night. Travel between cities after dark isn't typically recommended, so we stayed at an airport hotel and took a guagua home in the morning.
Casa Mackenzie | Santiago de los Caballeros, DR
Nearly a month after I departed for the US...home, sweet home.
Casa Neuendorf | Ponce, PR
In light of the magnitude 6.4 earthquake that rocked the island of PR during the meeting in Belize, rotating crews of regional support were deployed to reinforce the local team. I was part of the second wave and felt numerous middle-of-the-night aftershocks from the Neuendorfs' spare bedroom.
Casa Warren | Santiago de los Caballeros, DR
The Warrens made sure I wasn't alone the first night after I was mugged on the street in our neighborhood. Chicken soup, movie night, and friends that are more like family were just what the doctor ordered.
La Misión Luterana del Perú | San Borja, Lima, Peru
I accompanied six individuals from two congregations in IL and IA on a Community Health Evangelism Mercy Medical Team in Lima, Peru, in February. I distinctly remember the airport check-in kiosks asking me if I'd been in China in the last three weeks...
Krey beach house | Costambar, DR
The weekend before Jamielynn's wedding, maid of honor Tirzah hosted a bridal shower brunch at the Kreys' beach house. I and a few others stayed that night and tacked on a few extras for a relaxing getaway.
Krey beach house | Costambar, DR
As the number of overnight beach house guests dwindled, we played musical beds!
Franco's family home | El Caimito, DR
I joined some friends for a weekend at the presa in late September. Franco's grandma graciously opened her lakeside home to us; it was my first time sleeping under a mosquito net!
Apartamento Senn | Santiago de los Caballeros, DR
My sweet friend Anne welcomed four youth connected with an orphanage she's been volunteering at for years into her home for Christmas and needed another adult in case of emergency. IKEA pullout furniture is almost as amazing as these Ninja Turtle sheets!
A newly issued 7 pm curfew on New Year's Eve curtailed my former plans, which morphed into a sleepover with fellow missionary Kate at the home of the missionary family she's dog-sitting for.
If you weren't counting, that's 12 in 366 days (I guess the last one was technically in the new year but it’s my blog so I’m counting it), 289 of which have been defined by a pandemic. I debated doing nothing with these photos and simply repeating the exercise in what we all hope is more of a "normal" year in 2021. But, albeit it one nobody could have predicted, I love the story they tell, and I'm going to repeat the exercise in 2021 anyway.
Sleep tight, and until next year, blessings!
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