A Summary Of Deputation.

Since we began deputation 19 months ago, with 12 of the months actually being on the road, we've traveled 30,000+ miles (glad that's behind us), presented our ministry in 72 churches in 28 states, drove through 34 different states, had one car accident, stayed in all kinds of places and in all kinds of situations and met some of the sweetest people out there. Friendships were developed and strengthened, kindness was shown to us many, many times over, and our desire to get to the mission field intensified each time we presented our burden.

But now? Deputation is officially behind us. We were done at the end of June, but had two last commitments to complete in October, so now we can say we're done for sure. :-) As evidenced by this blog, I have a great love for travel, but after being on the road for a year and living out of a suitcase, I'll admit the novelty of traveling has worn off a bit. Add into the mix traveling with a newborn baby and that really puts a whole new spin on things! When we went to Texas for this last trip, Paul and I flew down while Nat spent four days driving (poor guy). So I missed out on the first leg of the road trip, but we experienced it full force the rest of the way! Paul did fairly well during the days, but nights were just a mess. In fact, one night he was up from 1 am - 6 am for no apparent reason (like teething, flu, etc). That one really baffled us and the next day we had a 6.5 hour drive to make. Thankfully he finally slept. ;) Since we've been home though, he's been doing very well and going to his bed with zero fuss. I guess he really does sense all the upheaval and chaos and reacts to that.

So now starts the mad dash to the finish line, so to speak. We hit the ground running with commitments and people to see and this next week looks pretty full. In between spending time with people, we have lots of packing to finish and things to put into storage. I thought I did a pretty good job of downsizing our stuff until I came home Thursday (after living out of a suitcase for three weeks) and realized things just multiplied while we were gone! So now it's time to get ruthless again. :-) In the end, it's all just things and I have to keep reminding myself of that. 

17 days before take-off!!!