You know that cheesy song by Daughtry? “I’m coming home, to the place where I belong…no I don’t regret this life I chose for me”… the lyrics keep running through my head. Maybe it’s because it is 1:30am, we’ve been back in Ukraine for about 36 hours, and I don’t feel an ounce of tiredness. Instead, I’m thrilled and energized to be back in L’viv. But Daughtry got it wrong when writing “these places and these faces are getting old, so I’m coming home.” When saying we’re glad to be back, it does not discredit the 4 great months in the States, mostly w/ family and friends, both in IL and NJ.
We’ve come back on good terms. My dad is recovering well; life went back to normal for our families. Our 2-wk. stay in NJ was spiritually and relationally refreshing. The kids are healthy and adaptable (as you can see from our picture, 2 minutes after our arrival).
But there is something to be said about flying into L’viv’s not-yet-finished-for-Euro2012 mini-airport terminal, being found by an airport employee, who said that Victoria (New Life’s admin) called to get us expedited out of the waiting area, to be greeted by Yulia (our sitter), Syava (Ben’s best friend), Andriy (who took over Boys Prison ministry) and Andriy (another great young preacher) – complete with Oreos and yellow flowers, to make a spectacle in the arrivals area with 4 checked bags, 5 carry-ons, 2 carseats, 2 little ones, Peter with our “trusty” white van (that was struggling to start that day…), and eager arms to help us carry everything through the snow and up the stairs.
Ben even overheard some US military talking about us, perplexed by who we were and the treatment we got! For the first time in a while, we were not paranoid about our visa status. Since we were out for over 90 days, our 90-day period starts over. So pray because we have 90 days to get a proper invite, which has been next-to-impossible to obtain. And that’s just the first step, before needing registration status and getting the visa.
The best part is that we are on the other side now. We left with the anticipation of Dylan’s arrival; we’ve returned with his 11-week-old, 14 lbs. of love in our arms, appropriately positioned under the painting of his namesake. I feel a completeness back in L’viv. Ben already attended a youth leaders’ meeting tonight, and there are great things on the horizon. February and March are starting to fill up; summer camps and interns are already in the works. 2012 holds many new things; to God be the glory for the past four months and new beginnings.