Tomorrow

written 06 June
Tomorrow we leave home and 23 hours later we will arrive home. Home is now on two different continents.

I am apprehensive. I don’t like change and I don’t like to say goodbye. Probably not good issues to have when you live across the world from so many friends and family. As we have been packing to head to the states for a few weeks, I have tried to come up with the words that would describe our life here. That hasn’t been as easy as it was even nine months ago. It was then that culture shock was thick, we were totally exhausted and overwhelmed and probably a bit depressed. Then I would have described our life here with words such as : no electricity, rice, bananas, stress, crying children, homesickness, rice, bananas, loneliness, tears, diarrhea, lack of sleep, bribes, no water, exhaustion, rice, bananas,…..

So glad we didn’t give up and go home ! Although some of the words would be the same in today’s description such as no electricity and rice, I would add so much more : joy, fruit (on many trees and in many hearts!), relationships, contentment, laughter, fun, home,.……

When we were preparing to come, I remember someone once asking me, "How could you do this to your girls ? "I can now confidently reply, "How could we not do this for our girls ?" It sure isn’t the reason we came to Nigeria, but the blessings of growing up here abound. Things that often seemed ike hardships have become the source of friction to polish us. What I thought I would dislike about Nigeria have become the things that have caused me to call it home.

I will be glad to get to the states...but I know that I will be ready to retun home in a few weeks.