Where would you like to escape to on vacation? Many people think of sitting in the sun on a snady beach, enjoying the sun and sea, listening to gulls and the crashing of the waves. Others imagine climbing a mountain and tasting from crystal clear mountain streams while calling out echoes from the mountaintop or hearing the eagle cry in the distance. We have been blessed by how God has supported us in our efforts to serve Him through the years in that we get to travel all over the US, visiting our church homes who for so long have supported us and love not only us but those we work with as well.
This means that we also have a home in Long Beach, California. The last time we were here in 2016 was the last time that Sean would travel with us, so we made a road trip (as we had done with Stephan’s last trip with us in 2010). In the begin years, our visits here (Long Beach has supported us from the beginning in 1990) included visits to Disneyland and all sorts of fun places for the boys (provided lovingly by members). But this year we were traveling from an empty nest to the city on the beach.
Now we had time to spend with so many who have been family and have become the deepest of friends. And we also were blessed to make new friends, as often happens on our trips, since we are visiting a congregation that we have not seen for three years. New people arrive whom we have never met. In this case that included the new preacher and his wife and the other missionary family supported by the congregation.
We knew the Brittons, who have worked in Uganda for 13 years; we simply had never met them. For years we and they would be back on furlough, visiting in Long Beach, but always at different times, often missing each other by a matter of a week or two. This was the first time we finally got to sit down together and share stories and get to know one another. Most of this was done around good potluck-style meals, of course. We even shared good fun at a church party around the 4th of July.
Our home time here for the past 12 years has been the beuatiful home of Kerry and Marisol Jablonski. From their home just around the corner from the church building (by California standards) with swimming pool, putting course, precious cats and more, we have always been welcomed as family from the first moment. Stephan and Sean have helped prepare for and serve at a family wedding, and we have all been welcomed by all the members of the family.
This year was no different. After spending an evening together watching the sun set behind the Queen Mary or visiting with other church family, we would come back to the house on the golf course, be welcomed by the cat and our family who has adopted us with whom we could sit comfortably on the couch and discuss the day or any other topic. Ice cream or some other snack in hand, feet tucked comfortably under our legs, we would share the day and plan the next.
We shared our frustrations with red tape (another tale coming up), our joy in visiting our sister-in-love and nephew in San Diego, tears or worries about family concerns on both sides, and laughter at how we are getting old. Our time in California came to a close after a wonderful evening at a 4th of July party and fireworks, almost as if it were sending us off well on our way to our next stop – the Big Apple. From coast to coast, we are thankful for God’s good care through His wonderful family in so many places.
Enjoy the pictures of some of the people in our lives in California. And enjoy the people God has brought into your life today, remembering that He has also brought YOU into other people’s lives to touch them with His love as well.
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