Phew! We made it!! Barrett, Annabelle, and I just had an amazing opportunity to do some final traveling before, Lord willing, our adoption takes place. The North American Mission Board held a marriage conference on Kauai, Hawaii for chaplains, so we took the opportunity to attend as Barrett’s travel was provided by his unit and the hotel by NAMB. AC and I tried to catch a free military flight to join him, but our flight was full both times we tried. Huge bummer but we decided the trip was worth the flight expense and I could always catch a free flight back from Seattle…at least that is what we thought!
We stayed on Kauai for four days taking in the sights as well as learning from Gary Chapman on ways to improve our marriage. We sat at a back table for Annabelle’s sake which ended up being a staff table. We had so much fun with the motley crew and the Grandpa at the table made AC feel at ease. We were also amazed at the natural beauty of the island where Jurassic Park was filmed. We took a coffee farm tour, saw sprouting water from lava rock, ate a fresh coconut, saw waves bigger than Everest, and walked on pristine beaches. We indulged in a helicopter tour of the island when we found out that 80% of the island cannot be seen by a car. This knocked two things off my bucket list…flying in a helicopter and seeing my 50th state! We were flown into ravines, swirled next to waterfalls, dwarfed by a mini grand canyon, and breathless seeing the cliffs burst rainbow colors before us! It was breath taking and a remarkable journey until the guy next to me said he was sick and grabbed the vomit bag. Thankfully, he didn’t hurl but I was a bit distracted for the final views of the wettest place on earth.
We left Kauai only to fly to Magnificent Maui to visit with Barrett’s brother and fam. What a completely different experience! This immaculate island has sugar cane lining the main highway, lava fields crawling for miles, a cloud covered mountain, rain forest, the world’s top beaches, and Oprah Winfrey’s house! The best of Maui can be seen by Hike Maui, the company that Dan co-owns. We took one of their hikes and tasted guava off of trees, picked berries, jumped off of waterfalls, swung on Banyan tree roots, and heard stories about Maui from our native guide. It was AMAZING! Thanks Dan for that once in a lifetime opportunity! Then we topped off our visit by watching the sunset on the beach at night while playing cornhole and chatting with friends. I had the best fish tacos I’ve ever tasted and we were able to hang with Dan and fam as we exchanged stories and life events. We left Maui wanting to return.
Then off to Seattle to meet with Barrett’s sister, parents, Aunt and Uncle. We enjoyed our talks, long dinners, and the fresh, cool, autumn air! The highlight was going to a Mariner’s game for Annabelle’s first baseball game! The Mariner’s were also my first baseball experience when they played in the Kingdom so long ago! We saw a grand slam, ate cotton candy, and the Mariner’s won! What a blast!
Barrett caught his flight home on Wednesday beating Oki’s first wave of typhoons. I was hoping to catch the free flight the next morning with AC but when we asked at the airport desk we found out the flight was delayed 48 hours and was overbooked. Perfect. I scoured the websites for a good deal home after the typhoon. That meant a few more days in Seattle! The bonus was I was able to stay longer with Dodi and Ang and see Betsy’s daughter and granddaughter! We had an amazing visit and AC loved being around Uncle Ang and fam for an extended time.
As we were getting ready to fly I found out another typhoon was scheduled to hit Oki exactly when I was supposed to land. Neither airline were cancelling that soon before our flights, so AC and I headed to Osaka, Japan figuring we were going to be stuck after the 10 hour journey. We landed jetlagged and exhausted only to find out they still weren’t cancelling the flight. In fact, they told me that they were going to leave on time and if they had to turn around and come back they would. Really? Who does that? That meant that Barrett would have had to leave the safety of our bunkered house to weather the storm in hopes we might land. Then, if we turned around that would make a four-hour flight for me and AC and a fight for a hotel room at midnight after being up for a day. No thanks. One sweet lady from the airline desk went above and beyond for us by changing our ticket with no fee and finding us a hotel room for less than $70 USD with free shuttle service. UNHEARD of here! AC and I took the deal and headed to the hotel where we got a Family Mart dinner and collapsed by the time our flight should have taken off.
What have I learned? The Lord does provide. I honestly had a hard time understanding the Lord’s plan when we did not make any of our free plane options when our adoption fees have kicked in and we face two trips to Ethiopia in the near future. I had a health and wealth doctrine to overcome and was reminded that I need to trust the Lord with everything. This trip was so important to visit family that we may not see for years and the marriage conference was so encouraging for us at this point in our relationship. We were able to leave the business of life here in Oki and reconnect with each other and refocus our present and future. The Lord was kind in letting Annabelle fly well on our many flights and be a joy to family. I have also just finished a loss of many dear friends so going away has helped me not wallow in what I have loss but be thankful for the time I have had with them and to trust the Lord will provide for another friend for Annabelle.
So here we are, back in Oki and our everyday life. We are amazed at how the Lord has blessed us with being able to travel and experience different cultures and life. We don’t know how much we will be able to do this as we happily increase our family by two. If you think about it, we covet your prayers as we await our new children. Pray for Annabelle to be best friends with them and pray for us to be the light of Christ to those we come in contact with in this journey. And please, pray for our children, that they will be cared for as they await this new way of life and adjust to our crazy ones.