Last Wednesday and Thursday, we made the trek from wintry Southern California (a.k.a. 80* weather and 0% humidity) to end-of-summer Asuncion, Paraguay (90* highs, 60-80% humidity, and not as much cooling off in the evenings as we're used to in Cali). It is good to be home, to unpack our things into our own space, and get back into a familiar routine. And we couldn't be happier to see all our South American friends!
God definitely went before us on the trip and made some elements of the trip much more enjoyable. On our first flight - 3 and a half hours from Ontario to Houston - we were blessed to have a row of three seats all to ourselves. We boarded the plane first, since traveling with an infant gets you priority seating, and spent the next 20 minutes or so just waiting for someone to come and fill the empty seat. But God saved it for us and we enjoyed the extra elbow room, and extra space for Bailey to play in when she awoke from her nap.
After the success we had with the extra seat on the short flight, Brandon approached the flight crew at the gate in Houston and asked if there was space on the 10 hour flight to Sao Paulo, Brazil, for us to do the same. And - PRASIE GOD - there was! We were seated in the last row of the place and were again able to spread out a bit. We were hopeful that Bailey would sleep in the empty seat (rather than in my arms), but that thought was short lived. She konked out for about an hour in the seat between Brandon and me, but then awoke with a start and wouldn't have anything to do with napping anywhere but in Mommy's arms. Oh joy. The flight was okay, but Bailey was restless and the turbulence kept us in our seats most of the time.
The worst flight of them all, though, was the short hop from Brazil to Asuncion (with a quick stop in Ciudad del Este). We were all antsy - Bailey more than usual - and I was exhausted. There was one point where I fell asleep sitting upright and Bailey started tumbling off the seat because I just wasn't alert any more. Thankfully, though, Brandon had gotten a bit of sleep on the plane and was coherent enough to catch her! After an hour of air time, we stopped in Ciudad del Este and again got to spread out into three seats for the 20 minute flight to Asuncion. And, yes, there were people who boarded the plane for the 20 minute segment of the journey. Really people? You're going to pay for a plane ticket when the trip is only 20 minutes? I don't get it.
But I digress . . .
Our luggage gave us a scare when we thought that five of our six bags were lost. One bag - the bag filled with volleyballs, cones, and other sports equipment for the school - was first on the baggage claim belt when we arrived in Asuncion. Expecting all our luggage to be in relatively the same spot on the plane, anxiety grew and grew as bags kept coming, none of them ours. Note to self: If one of your bags comes off the plane first, the others will be dead last.
As we exited immigration to start searching for our friends who came to pick us up, we were greeted by banners, mariachi music, and endless cheering. No, it wasn't for us. From what I could tell from the signs that the fanatic crowd was holding, there was a national soccer player arriving and shortly after we went through the doors, the screams became ear-piercing as he apparently made his grand entrance. I can still pretend all the ruckus was for us, right?
The apartment building was a sight for sore eyes, and I was further overjoyed when I quickly discovered that two of our neighbors (Mara and Belinda) took time to dust and clean the floors in the apartment before we arrived. THANK YOU!! After two months of being away, that was NOT a chore I was looking forward to. We were also greeted by a fabulous sign hanging in our kitchen/dining area:
Things are much the same as when we left, with a few notable exceptions. One, our friends Nate and Cassie decided to update the pictures on our computer with some of their own. This is our new desktop picture, and they also took 24 other pics of themselves in our apartment in various poses (some in each other's clothes) and set them as our new screen saver. I've left it all up . . . for now.
The second change (that I was super excited to make) was putting up new curtains in Bailey's room. Not only are these ones made by Grandma Fulbright (thanks, Mom!) they are also lined and help block out a lot of the afternoon sunlight that her room gets. The curtains that had been hanging were sheers that let in a lot of light, making afternoon napping more difficult than it needed to be. Now, her room glows a soft pink in the afternoons and stays much cooler! Yeah!
We were blessed by our time in California, but feel equally blessed to have returned safely home, to where God has called us to be.
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