See You at the End of the Summer, Kwaj!

Well, 4 hours until we get off of Kwaj for half of the summer. Not quite a year here, but close. I felt like this occasion deserved some sort of tribute, some kind of acknowledgment. I truly have mixed feelings. We are absolutely thrilled to go off-island and see family and Boston friends after a year away, and yet, leaving for so long what has become home is causing a bit of anxiety. Five states in 5 weeks with the 5 of us.... one being a two-year-old: That's a LOT of travel. A LOT of waiting in security gate lines. A LOT of taking off our shoes and emptying out our pockets for TSA. A LOT of hours in the sky. A LOT of rental cars, hotels, and traffic. But, it is also a chance for restaurants again and seeing our good ole USA, and seeing what has changed, what looks the same, what is different in each of the cities we are so familiar with. It is time together as a family. And it is time for our bike muscles to atrophy. :) It is a time for the cockroaches to try to lay claim to this home (not really, we have hired a house-sitter, AKA “roach defeater”). Many folks have already left the island for the summer. It is already a ghost town. Our calendar is filled with who gets back when in August so we can reconnect with folks before school starts. Our lists are made as to what we need to bring back with us after the summer (school supplies, new soccer cleats, bookbags). When we return, many folks won't be here; it was either their time to relocate, or a pink slip sent them off prematurely. When we return, we will have a Burger King and a 31 Flavors/Baskin Robbins. Such an odd thing for Americans simplifying their lives in the middle of the South Pacific, but if the Army set aside the funds, they set aside the funds. Who am I to argue that I don't need a Whopper (Panera would have been a better, healthier choice)? :) When we return, there will be new friends to meet and to reach out to....to make sure they adjust to Kwaj okay too. May we always be open to new friendships. Sadly, a great majority of the Americans here are not.

The part we are most looking forward to this summer are the tearful hugs of dear ones whom we've missed so much over the past year. [And to our dear friends in many other cities that we cannot see this time around on this family trip, we love you too.] I can't wait to bite into a Panera sandwich...but not because I haven't tasted that in a year, but because I get to do that with a loved one. I can't wait to see my kids with their grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. I am praying amidst our 8 specialist appointments this summer, that one of them brings the wonderful news of reduced or completely zapped-away food allergies for my little guy.

We are getting a bit of cyber traffic of folks considering moving here. It's been wonderful to be able to share our experiences thus far with you. We will be happy to resume answering questions in August, and we look forward to meeting those of you who have made the choice to come here this summer. Welcome to Kwaj! Yokwe yuk!

More than anything, I want to say that God has been so good to us. He always is. No matter the circumstances, He is always good. This year took me through many ups and downs, admittedly a LOT of downs; there's no denying that. And I did not, and still do not, love every minute of living here. But I do know to Whom I can look up and ask for help. And to Whom I can express my frustrations (ever read a Psalm...a LOT of whining going on there) and to Whom I can also thank and share the victories with! We have made a life here work. We are learning new things all of the time....about life somewhere so far away and about how much we still do not know. We have deliberately planned some new things for next year. We bought a family tent to go down to the far beach and camp. We have some new things to try (me being the Treasurer for a Kwaj charity group, piano lessons for the kids –we just inherited one to pass down when we leave, Mark being VP of the church council and a representative for the Student Advisory Council –a forum for the different contracts here to dialogue with the school system about concerns). We hope to take the kids to Ebeye more often in some capacity of charity through the church to help read to kids in the Ebeye schools or tutor, now that David is easier to take around. We want our kids to leave their time as guests in the Marshall Islands knowing how most of the world has very little. May they develop even more compassion and mercy. Now that we have adjusted, we want the faces of the Marshall Islands to be inscribed in their hearts forever. And so we hope this next year brings us more opportunities to build those memories. I know how sweet that Boston accent will sound when someone says “that's wicked good” to me, but I know how sweet it will be to look upon the faces of our Pacific Islander friends here in their mumus and big smiles when we get back. Kwaj, see you again in a few weeks! Family, see you very soon on the other side of the International Date Line!!!!!!!!!