SMOi

What adventures and trials 2010 will bring to us. God is so very good and his graciousness is indescribable. Maridith and I have been in the US now for two weeks. We arrived after a two-day trip by way of Paris, London and Chicago before landing in Memphis. It was a beautiful trip on that little commuter jet. We left Chicago in a snowstorm and as we flew south, the sky changed its over coat for a sweater. As soon as the mighty Miss Sipp came in view of my double pained window, the air was clear. We could see that brute river, brown and beautiful as she passed the Bridge, the Pyramid, and the island named after the very silt that gives the Mississippi her milk chocolate tint. It was wonderful seeing Mamma and Daddy after five months apart. We went straight away to Ihop. You know, the French call breakfast “coffee and bread.” We call coffee and bread a warm up lap. And so it was. I had to go with the steak and eggs, a rank American tradition. From there is was family visits and long talks. We had a wonderful time hearing all that the Lord is doing in and though so many family members. We were overjoyed to experience Christmas from all sides of the family. God is good. I praise him for what he has given us in family. Our Christmas extended far past the 25^th. We left Tipton County and made our way to Rome (Georgia, that is) to spend time with Maridith’s extended family. From GA we went right up to Andrews to visit our church and enjoy the community there. We dearly love those there at SWO and praise God for every second spent there. From there it was out of the cold and in to the cool into the sunny state of Florida. There, we had a fantastic time with Maridith’s nuclear family. Once again God has blessed us with an amazing family. We truly enjoyed our time with the Wade clan. We would have loved to stay longer but we had to be back in Tennessee for the social event of the season, the wedding of A G to my dear friend L J. The honor of “Best Man” was bestowed on yours truly and I hope that I did this honor justice. We had an amazing time and of course the wedding was a beautiful reunion for the friends of L and A. It was a memorable time. We all parted ways and said our good-bys. To some we said “see you later,” to others it was “see you in Africa,” and to others we said nothing because we simply did not know them but I’m sure that they were fantastic people nonetheless. We are back in Tipton County with Mamma and Daddy, the lovely couple that raised me and fed me all my life. Still to this day, I am fed quite well every time we have the pleasure of passing through West Tennessee. But for now it is on to “The Great State of Texas” and the next chapter in our lives.