That’s right…the Coxes have arrived…and only 6 days after leaving Alduba 😉
Though our arrival found us hanging on by a pretty thin thread after a pretty horrendous 24 hours of travel, we have since had a decent night sleep and feel pretty normal, for the moment anyway. I’m sure the jetlag will set in this afternoon 🙂
More later…
Thanks to the Ethiopian Immigration office and our inability to get an extension on Lily’s visa (despite the fact that all the rest of the family received their extension last month relatively easily), we have had to change our plans. Nothing like a futile day at the immigration office resulting in a complete disruption of your plans to make you oh so ready to leave. Thankfully we were able to change our tickets and will be leaving here on Wed. night, one day before Lily’s visa runs out 🙂
So as you can imagine, we are running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to get all our ducks in a row (or should I say chicks?) before heading out, not to mention packing – again. 😦 Thankfully, our dear friends, Dawn and Steve Bryan (SIM Ethiopia Director) volunteered to take the kids so we can get our stuff done.
God knows, though, and we are filled with great peace. We have been wrestling with the feeling that we were needed at home for the last couple of weeks, so we are actually relieved that this has made the decision for us and that we will soon be home to help care for my mother who is recovering from a knee replacement and heart complications that had her in ICU for a week. PTL she is much better and has been receiving great care from her sister, her daughter, and her church.
What’s that quality we always say is most valuable on the mission field??? Oh, yeah, now I remember, flexibility 🙂
With a great sense of relief, we arrived in Addis Ababa this evening, so glad that we managed to not hit any of the 1,500 pedestrians we passed walking on the road between Soddo and here. The whole trip I kept reminding myself that I would soon be driving in America, a place where going for a drive can even be considered enjoyable! It was almost more than I could imagine as I clutched the steering wheel for 8 hours, dodging people, animals and pot holes. I can hardly wait to drive on an open stretch of US highway: using cruise control, driving with one hand on the wheel, listening to music and never seeing a person walking on the road, much less fearing they’re going to bolt across in front of me… Again, so glad to be here – safely. Now if I can just get hubby here to rub my aching shoulders 🙂
Seems like we’ve been getting ready for this day for quite a while now. And I guess we have…meetings, goodbyes, handovers, repairs, packing, paperwork, more meetings, more goodbyes.
But we finally did it. With both joy and sorrow we left Alduba a little after 10:00 this morning. It took us a while to get away as Trent had to fix a flat tire on our truck while I did the last minute packing and cleaning, broken up by two tearful goodbyes with friends – the last in a succession of goodbyes that have been spread out over the last 2 weeks. It’s always sad to leave loved ones, no matter which continent.
Our drive up here to Arba Minch was nothing short of spectacular. We have been receiving record rainfall in Bannaland – not good for the road, but certainly good for the crops. Everything is lo lush. We passed field after field of corn, and it was a good feeling to leave knowing that there is plenty to eat. Continuing north and east, we were pleased to see that the rains had been well spread throughout our region. The sun broke through large cotton ball clouds as we drove up the valley between Konso and Arba Minch, highlighting the beautiful patchwork of dark greens, light greens, and rich browns covering the mountain sides, like some masterful quilt. Several times I was struck with the desire to stop and take a picture, as if seeing it all again for the first time. A lovely farewell indeed. How good it does our hearts to know that hunger will not oppress the Southwest as it has the Southeast.
We’re in Arba Minch now, a town that sits on a plateau above two lakes. The kids are both asleep and Trent and I are catching up on emails. We have a long drive tomorrow to Addis. Keep us in your prayers. We’re both driving – Trent in our vehicle with the kids and I in another vehicle that we’ve been babysitting for another missionary. It’s not something I enjoy as driving here is quite stressful.
Just two more weeks before we leave Ethiopia…see you all soon!
Tabby
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