Not What We Planned But What We Needed

We were more than ready for a break so December 18th couldn’t have come soon enough.  It was a blessing to be able to fly straight from Kabul to Istanbul, Turkey.   We spent three days there wandering the streets, eating lots of good food and drinking lots of tea.  We found out that we really didn’t care for the coffee but we were glad we tried it.   The freedom, the fresh air and just time together without the pressures of work were healing.

We then flew to Greece and have spent about 5 days in Delphi, Greece, a quaint, little town with brick streets and good restaurants.  Our original plan was to do some skiing.  Before we came, we realized there would not be any snow for us to be able to ski.  We also realized some down days in a small town were probably just what we needed.  So we have seen a few sights, taken a few hikes, enjoyed window shopping, and ate some Greek food and pizza.  Christmas day was spent mostly in our hotel room reading, watching a few TV shows, and listening to music.   It was quiet with no agenda and just what we needed.  We enjoyed some Skype chats with family and a nice meal at the restaurant here we have been to most every day.  David really likes the pizza and could eat it everyday.   Noel was sick for part of his time in Delphi but seems to be on the mend.

Yesterday we came back to Athens.  Today Noel and Winter are out sightseeing while David and I are at the hotel.  David had a fever and chills this morning but seems to be much better this afternoon but still tired.  I am praying that I can stay well since it seems every member of the family has been sick on this trip but me.  Winter started out the trip with a bad cough that is still lingering just a bit.

Our prayer for our time away is that we will return rested and refreshed.  The kids and I will still have some break left after we return to Kabul.  This time will be useful for me to get ahead on lesson plans and make sure our pantry is stocked for the next few months.  It will give the kids some down time at home before starting back to school.  Noel will be jumping right back into work after the weekend..  Pray for our program in the coming weeks as the leadership is making decisions about many things concerning our program.  Pray also for our flight permissions.  It can be draining to go through this process year after year.

We hope your Christmas was blessed and full of love and grace.  We pray many blessings on this coming year.  Our hearts are full of love and gratitude for the prayers and support you all have given us this year.   We are so blessed and encouraged by you all.  Thank you.  TJ

PS:  I will attach some pictures later once we get that part of the blog back up and running.