On the road again.......actually I have been away from my home now for a year. Although God provided 2 wonderful homes that we have stayed in this year as we have unexpectedly been State -side, there is an unsettledness that I have felt not being in my home....using my stuff.....sitting on my porch for quite time . Yuck...do you notice how many times I ‘ve said my....I sound so selfish. I guess you learn to really appreciate what you do not have. It is funny about 6 months before I left our house in Rwanda I was ready for a change and kind of tired of it....now I can not wait to be back home to it.
Well, we are now homeless as we are traveling around the U.S. looking for more partners to join us in this work in Rwanda. Our older 3 children put their foot down and expressed that they were done with the Jenkins’ Tour so we let them off the hook. The older boys are staying with Dave’s parents in MN having a teen age boy dream summer by the lake...building some good memories with Grandparents,Aunts. Uncles and cousins. Sophia, our oldest is hanging out with friends in Oklahoma City. We are now down to a family of 4. This is really different family dynamics.
We have been on the road a few weeks now. We stayed a few days in Oklahoma City with friends from our home church, Quail Springs and then last Sunday headed to DFW. We had a great time reconnecting with old friends and praying,dreaming and sharing about what God has done these last few years in Rwanda. After DFW , we headed down to Roscoe, Tx where my parents live. It was nice to let down and relax for a day and then we headed to Abilene for another ROC party. These parties have been going well. Parting with a purpose as we gather friends and share stories of how we have joined God in Rwanda.
Saturday was a special day as we were back with my parents and Timothy our youngest decided to be baptized. We went to a small church near where my father works. It started out kind of rocky when Dave stepped in the baptistry and it was almost boiling as the thermostat was broken. Dave let out several screams and leaped out of the baptistry. After several hours of draining refilling and bags of ice we witnessed a special moment of young faith expressing itself with an sweet desire to make Jesus his boss and join an eternal family.
Sunday we worshipped at 2 churches in Abilene and were challenged to " God -lead risk leads to the greatest reward" David McQueen. We had a good lunch with my brother and parents. had meeting in afternoon with an old friend and then traveled back to Oklahoma City.
Monday night we had another great ROC party at the Gooches home with several old friends and new friends. I was proud of my daughter Sophia who spoke so passionately about her school, KICS.
Well, this is a little window into our lives right now. I wish I could report that we are always joyful and enjoying the journey but to be honest we get homesick for a home to call our own.... to all be together as a family.....having some type of routine.
But we are learning a lot through sojourning....God is teaching us new ways of relating to each other--change is helping us break some bad patterns. It has also been very encouraging seeing the generosity of God’s people. So many have blessed us with their hospitality, shared their network of friends and load us cars.
Well It has been a long time since I posted and I am going to try to blog about our Jenkins tour so hopefully more to come!
Blessings!
