I Am Excited About That!

Dear everybody,

Have you ever been excited and scared to death at the same time? When I start thinking of our furlough coming up in a little over a month, those two sentiments battle within me. I am excited about:

1) seeing my family - My parents (Mike and Elva Farrell and my sister Emily) will be returning to France for another term of missionary service in May. My sister Esther and her family are on deputation right now, raising support to go to France as missionaries also. We will be together the first few days of May. We haven't been altogether in 7 years!

I am excited about that!

2) seeing friends -We have many college friends and friends we have made in churches across the US that we are looking forward to reconnecting with. Many are in the ministry and we can rejoice together over what the Lord has done.

I am excited about that!

3) fellowshipping with our supporting churches - Once a year for missionary conference we pull out the English hymnbooks and sing in English. I am looking forward to joining in worshiping our great God with the Saints in our supporting churches.

I am excited about that!

4) experiencing the US: Wal-Mart, Olive Garden, Wendy's, Mountain Dew, Jelly Bellies and English Muffins... are just a few of the things we have been dreaming about eating lately.

I am excited about that!

5) a fresh perspective: Veteran missionaries have told us that furlough is a good time to take a step back and see one's ministry from a different perspective.

I am excited about that!

6) meeting new people - 2 of our churches have new pastors, 1 church is NEW to us, 1 church merged with another church, and we can be confident that God has added new believers to the churches that support us.

I am excited about that!

7) traveling as a family - Our kids don't remember much about the United States. What they do remember is from the pictures. We are looking forward to showing our kids a bit of the United States during our travels... maybe stop along the way at some landmarks.

I am excited about that!

8) sharing what the Lord has done - We have lots of things to be thankful for. God accomplished many things during our past three years on the field and we have a LOT to share.

I am excited about that!

9) being together as a family unit - We will be spending countless hours together, whether it is in the van traveling or in churches. On the field, our hectic lifestyle, work on camp, or constant visitors take up our time together as a family. More time together?

I am excited about that!

10) growing in our walk - We know furlough will not always be rosy but we are gearing up for a time of growth in our personal walks with the Lord. Many times trials bring growth.

I am excited about that!

Thanks for your prayers for us as we look forward to all these things during our furlough time. Come back to the blog to read about the things that make me nervous as I think about our furlough time.

Liz