Longing For Home

Recently, we were contacted by someone from Moody wanting to write an article about the things God is doing among the Gmz. As part of the article, we were requested to send several photos, which meant that one of us had to rifle through our collection of pictures from the past few years. This morning was a quiet morning, and so I decided that I would take a look. I guess I should have realized it was bad timing. For pictures are memory-triggers. Memories of events, memories of places, and memories of people. People we don’t know, people we know, and often…people we love.

I scrolled through the thumbnails looking for action shots of one of us working with the teams, or singing Scripture-based songs, or the reading of Gmz Scripture, but, of course, these type of photos are mixed in with every other kind of picture we have taken along the way. And so, inevitably, I came across pictures of the best wife and the two most beautiful children I know, all three for which my heart would reach out and want to hold! You see, it has now been officially two weeks since Andrea, Micah and Grace left for the US and the countdown until their return holds a prominent place in my mind. “Three more sleeps” Micah told me on the phone today. I wish, it’s still more like nine.

Some pictures made me laugh.

That's what happens when we find an abandoned tube of partially used hair gel.

I love your mommy too, Miss Papaya Face!

Packed and ready to fly!

I wish you could hear the sound effects that go along with this picture...two little gigglers egging each other on!

Hey, where is my ice cream?

Some pictures made me thankful to God the giver of good gifts.

I love my wife!

The pebble pit is hours of entertainment!

Pajama party!

Her beauty is not "only skin deep"!

Is that a smile or just gas? (I'm talking about Grace).

I miss my girls!

But all the pictures made me long to be HOME once again, wherever that might be.

There's no place like home