Flight Travel
This was the first time flying with three kids. And let's just say it was an adventure! We decided to take only carry on luggage, so we wouldn't have to check anything. So we had four rolling suitcases. Allan rolled two of them and carried his laptop in his messenger bag slung over his shoulder. Jakob rolled one of them and did a great job! I carried Noah on my tummy in a baby carrier and rolled the fourth luggage. Trevor walked/ran on his own. Ha ha... Trevor absolutely loved loved loved the airport! Everything was very exciting for him. He was exclaiming with delight everything he saw from the golf cart security car, to airplanes, to tram, to rocks outside the parking lot. 
The most terrifying part were the escalators! Both boys were very scared of them. Allan went down first and caught all of the luggage as they came down next. Then Jakob would go down, but only in a seated position, and I would hold/dangle Trevor off my hip with Noah still attached to my belly. Then when we got to the bottom I would yell to both boys, like a crazy mommy, to get up quickly because I saw a 911 television episode once where a little boy got caught in an escalator. Needless to say we took the elevators on the way home to avoid all escalators.
I thought the contents of my purse gave a good illustration of the basic necessities needed during the flight. A nursing cover to feed Noah. Diapers and wipes to keep little bum bums clean and free of sores. Hand sanitizer to clean little hands after they have been all over touching the new and exciting things of the airport and plane. And an epi-pen pack with benadryl in case of an emergency.... or in case of needing to drug energy filled little boys.
The time in flight went very smoothly. We actually got some rest and the plane was not full so we were able to spread out.
Winter or Spring?
We flew into Pittsburgh, and as the plane descended I looked out the window and saw tons of leafless trees. My first and immediate thought was, "Oh wow they had a really bad wild fire, look at the damage!" Then I realized, oh no that's just what winter looks like.
Born and raised in Southern California I don't have much experience at all with real winter weather. Here is my coat, the only lonely little coat hung on the wall. I can imagine that this weather would feel even more cold coming from the Philippines hot and humid weather.
The weather was actually not bad. It felt like a California winter. But we were informed that it was actually an Ohio Spring! Here is some frost on our rental car's window.
How Beautiful are the Feet that Bring Good News?
There was something funny where I surprised even myself. The Mager's ask you to take your shoes off when you enter their house. Which is a common trait among Filipino households as well. When I take my shoes off I am used to putting on household slippers. So half a day passed when I felt like something was missing. I realized I was slipperless! So I asked for a pair of slippers from Bernie. Perhaps this means my feet are already acclimated to the Filipino culture? At least part of me is ready to go. :)
Have Toys Will Play
We stayed with the Magers during our visit. They are doing foster care, so right now they have 4 kids under the age of 4 in their household. So with our three boys, that was 7 kids age 4 and under. There was hardly a quiet moment. But it was a special blessing to get to meet the sweet children they get the privledge to foster. 
Choose your own adventure - the alternate ending
Like I said above, if we weren't called to the mission field, we would love to move our family to Youngstown and attend this church and have Allan freelance as a web designer. At least that would be the alternate ending if we were to write a choose your own adventure book about our life. Allan had the opportunity to preach on Sunday morning and present our ministry in the Sunday School hour. Give or take on each Sunday morning they have about 100 people in attendance. This church is a young church, for it was planted/started with Matt as the senior pastor about 8 years ago after he graduated from seminary. So it is exciting to see all of the ways God has been working in that body of believers the past 8 years.
During the week we attended a bible study hosted at the associate pastor's house. Fun tidbit was I have a double that attends this church. Okay, not really. But the wife of the associate pastor is also named Sandi, short for Sandra and her middle name is Jean. And she changed the spelling of her name from Sandy to Sandi when she was little! Just like me! Two Sandi Jeans. :)
Also a good friend, Samantha came down to visit while we were in town. Along with Bernie, Sam was the other individual who "schemed" and plotted to set Allan and myself up. She is a dear friend to all of us.
We tried to get a group picture, and the one below was as good as it gets. Sam is in the top middle, Bernie in the bottom middle, Matt on the right. We are missing 2 out of the 7 kids, but as you can see the kids were a bit squirmy and tired for the picture.
It was a refreshing and encouraging visit! We are thankful and blessed to have SGC as a supporting church and body of believers. We look forward to coming back for visits when we come home on furloughs and home assignments over the years. Until then life in Youngstown will always remain the "alternate ending" to our lives. Can't wait for them to come and visit on a short term mission trip once we move.
No comments:
Post a Comment