Welcome home

It's hard to believe after so many months of praying, planning, and preparing, I am finally here at Maria's. For the longest time, it felt like August would never get here, now it seems as though August has come and gone in the blink of an eye.

After some lengthy travel and a few fun-filled days in Beijing, the time finally came to come "home". Mikey and I arrived in Luoyang on Sunday night and as Mikey and Mariah walked me to my room, the only way I could describe how I felt was overwhelming relief. It was like the planning, the anxiety, the fear, the uncertainty could all cease because I was finally here. That's definately not to say that I havent been anxious, fearful, and uncertain since arriving (among many other emotions), but it's all been covered in indescribable peace, truly a peace that passes all understanding; a peace that even though things are tough and somedays I just want to cry, I just know it's "right"; peace in knowing there's nowhere else I would want to be right now but here. I was so happy to finally get to unpack my bags and sleep in a bed that I knew would be my bed for many months to come.

Here's a little peek into "home"...

The staff here as been so incredibly welcoming and supportive during my first week of getting settled in. Mikey, Mariah, Jona, and Heidi have consistently checked on me just to be sure I'm "ok" and they ayis and other staff have been so graciously welcoming despite my inability to communicate with them very well. But by far the best part, of course, is hearing "Becca!" when I walk into some of the rooms and seeing the smile on those sweet faces once they start to recognize who you are. One of my favorite things is when I walk into the Jungle Book room and I hear "Becca, come here!" coming from Isaac's little voice. After playing for a little while each day, he will look up at me and say "Becca no bye-bye"...I cannot tell you the joy that overflows in my heart when I can look into his sweet face and say "Right, Becca no bye-bye."

Sweet friends, Isaac and Jaelynn