And Curtain!

Well, State Road 47 is officially over. I'm not sure how much I've blogged about it, but it has pretty much entirely consumed our lives for the last couple months. Even though my role was minor...ticket, poster & program design; publicity; ad design, Josh's was the big deal. For the past several weeks, he has had rehearsal pretty much every Tues & Thurs, then every day for the last couple of weeks. The shows went really well, and maybe the effort put into the show was evident to those who saw it, and I hope it ministered to those in attendance. But most of all...I'm just glad it's over.

The only catch, however, is that instead of spending the first post-SR47 day lounging around the house or celebrating over a nice meal...I was dropping my hubby of 6 years off at the airport to fly to a country in extreme political turmoil. As soon as the Saturday night performance was over (which was probably the best of the four...yes, they did it four times), we ran home to change, grab bags and head to Atlanta. We stopped in the Gwinnett area for dinner at one of the few non-fast food establishments still serving at 10:45, then it was on to the hotel for a few hours of sleep. We were up around 6, and had celebrated our 6th anniversary over eggs, sausage and biscuits at Paschal's in the food court at Hartsfield. Say, what you will, but it was still one of the best breakfasts I have had in a long time (never mind, that I rarely eat breakfast).

I received an email Sunday night from Josh letting me know they had arrived safely. Although it was a brief message, it was nice to read! Earlier this evening as Jack and I are just sitting around pretty much unwinding, my cell phone rang. It was a really strange and long number with no spaces. I thought it might be, and it was...Josh. He was calling from the team's satellite phone. We didn't talk very long...probably 2 minutes, but it was probably the best 2 minutes of the day.

Tomorrow, Jack and I will leave for our mini-road trip to Greenwood to reunite and catch up with some old friends. It will be a lot of fun to see some folks we haven't seen in a while.

Yesterday Josh & I marked 6 years of marriage, and today my mom & dad celebrate 36. Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad! Josh and I are incredibly lucky to have parents who emulate what marriage should be.

On again?

Well, sounds like as of now Josh's trip is on again. After the team leader consider changing the destination to Roatan, a touristy/resort-style island that seemed safer, he felt compelled to discuss the situation with the missionaries in the original destination again. They apparently traveled the road from San Pedro Sula (where Josh & the team flys in) to La Esperanza (the town they board in) without any incident and felt safe. Fortunately, the rioting and demonstration is not expected to reach and/or affect these more remote areas. So, for now, Josh's trip is on again. Please remember him as he prepares for this trip. I can only imagine it will be difficult to prepare mentally with the hectic schedule of the musical immediately preceding his departure. Also, remember Jack & I as we prepare to say goodbye to Josh for a whole week. We feel fortunate that Josh's profession is not one that requires much travel, so other than Monday nights in the ER, we enjoy spending simple evenings at home or occasionally with friends and will certainly miss him while he's gone.

JOSH FINALLY SPEAKS (and learns)

(READ THE FOLLOWING AS IN JOSH'S VOICE)
Ok, Ok...I realize that I've been back from Honduras for over two weeks and I'm only just now getting around to blogging about the medical missions trip. It was amazing. I had a good time with some great people. Our team of 6 physicians saw more than 1500 patients in 5 days.


What I learned:

1) Honduras is a beautiful country (as the picture adequately portrays). If we can get the infrastructure improved a bit, I'm ready to retire there.

2) I learned and relearned humility. I've told this story several times since being back, but I cannot get out of my mind an elderly woman in her 80's who walked through mountainous terrain for 6 hours overnight to get to where our clinic was to be held. Upon arriving, she went to the end of the line and waited patiently for 5 hours until it was her turn to see a physician. Instead of a complaint, she cried and thanked us for being there - a pretty humbling experience.

3) I learned lessons regarding a heart of servitude for my return home.

4) I learned what true need and poverty are.

5) Finally, I learned that the word 'nudo' in spanish is not what you may think it means. 'Presentacion nudo' was a sign posted in one of the classrooms where we held clinic one day. When everyone had been seen for the day, I thought it would be funny to live up to the sign on the wall. Unfortunately, I later discovered that 'nudo' is the spanish word for 'knot.' Some lessons have to be learned the hard way.

Josh is Home

Okay, okay...so it took me three days to get this up, but we've been busy since his return. Josh is officially back from Honduras. His plane got in Sunday evening. After going through customs and all the usual long lines, we finally spotted him in the Arrivals Lobby at the Atlanta airport around 7:45. It turned out to be good that it took him so long, because Jack and I were stuck in traffic. Anyone who has been in Atlanta in the last month knows they are repaving the connector through downtown on the weekends. We've dealt with the madness two weekends in a row now. Here's one of the shots of Jack playing with daddy after his return!

Jack and I were both excited to see Josh, and Jack didn't have any trouble recognizing his daddy despite his 8-day old scruff, which he has since trimmed up and is trying out. He has had a beard before and he loves them, so we'll see what happens. I think he looks great with a beard, but have a hard time classifying him as a beard person.

Jack and I stopped and had lunch with my brother and sister-in-law before heading to the airport to pick up Josh. It was fun to catch up with them. We even made a trip to Target, which I always enjoy. Jack got pretty ill in the car about the time we hit traffic, and wailed pretty much the remaining 30-45 minutes of the trip. I think he was tired of being in the car and ready to see his daddy, because he was fine while we waited the 45 minutes or so for Josh. He even made friends with the people all around us in the lobby. He seems to make friends easily...I think it's the hair.

I heard a lot about Josh's trip on the way home, and will hopefully talk him into sharing some of his adventures here. I think they had a great trip and saw more than1500 patients during their 5 days of clinic in the villages surrounding La Esperanza, Honduras. He's already talking about doing the trip again next year.

Update on Josh

I got another email from Josh on Friday. He said he had just had his first hot shower in while. They were scheduled to spend today in town and possibly make a trip to some Mayan ruins. We look forward to picking him up Sunday evening. He was one of the team's drivers, which he says was an experience. I hope to get him to share some of his experiences here on the blog.

Just Got Word...

Last night I received a phone call from a friend whose husband is traveling in Josh's group to let me know she had heard that they arrived safely despite a delay in Atlanta due to weather. I just checked my email after putting Jack to bed and had an email from Josh! He and another guy in his group stopped in an internet cafe. It was great to hear from him. He says they are having a good time, but he misses us. We miss you too! See you Sunday!

Five Years of Bliss with Soda Pop Fizz

On Saturday, Josh and I celebrated five years of marriage. Five years doesn't really seem like that long; I guess because we've been together for almost 10. Since Josh was scheduled to depart for Honduras sort of early Sunday morning, we arranged to stay near the airport Saturday night. My mom agreed to watch Jack. So, we dropped him off around lunchtime on Saturday. After checking in, we headed downtown to the new World of Coca-Cola, which is right next to the Georgia Aquarium. We had to wait for a bit to get in, but had a great time once inside.

We had discussed going to the aquarium, but really only had a couple of hours to spend before having dinner. So, we decided to save it for a day when we had more time on our hands. The WOCC is basically a glorified museum to the creation of one of the most widely recognized soft drinks. The tour begins with a cute little film and then self-guided tours of a history of coke area and a small scale bottling plant, which really makes coke for visitors to take home. Upstairs there is an area to watch Coke commercials from around the world, see pop-art and a funny display about the debacle that was New Coke. The best part, by far, was the 4-D movie. The seats in the theater move, shake, vibrate and you even get spritzed with a bit of water in certain parts.

Our final stop was the tasting room. In here, you can sample many varieties of Coca-Cola owned soft drinks from around the world. Some are tasty...others not so much. My favorite section was just the good old-fashioned favorites area that included Coca-Cola Classic, my favorite, and Josh's fav Coke Zero. Before leaving (if your shoes aren't stuck to the incredibly sticky floor), each visitor gets their own coke in a glass bottle (of course) to take home. We had a great time. After our tour we walked across Centennial Olympic Park to the Embassy Suites and had dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. It is one of our favorite places. It's definitely pricey, but well worth it for a special occasion and a great steak!

The next morning, I got Josh to the airport and then headed to Athens for church and spend a couple of days with my family and friends. Only 5 more days until we go pick up Josh!

Getting Ready to say Goodbye

Although last week seemed like a typical week, it wasn't. The evenings were filled with taking care of last minute details for Josh's medical mission trip to Honduras. He needed things from here and there, so we went around gathering all his supplies. Wednesday evening we enjoyed a mid-week dinner with some friends. I thought this picture of Jack & James was pretty funny. He looks like he's about to take off.

Jack also enjoyed his usual entertainment from Tate & Brit. The boys even took turns holding Jack and having their pictures made. The Shaws were getting ready for their trip to the beach. In fact, they are there now and hopefully having a great time. Maybe we'll be reading about it soon on their blog. In the meantime, here's a cute picture of the crew.

On Friday, Jack and I went and met Josh at work for his lunch break. We all went and voted early and then had a quick lunch. Once we were home, I began writing notes on the back of some photos I had printed out. I printed out 10 different recent photos (mostly of Jack, some with Josh & some with me). On the backs I wrote funny messages and notes to Josh and hid them in the pockets of the scrubs he'll be wearing each day in Honduras. I'm guessing as of today, he's seen 4 notes (I put one photo in each shirt pocket and one in each pants pocket). I guess there is a slim possibility that he's so eager to see my hilarious messages that he has skipped ahead in his suitcase and peeking at the next day's early. Anyway, I hope they make him happy and not sad. I'm already looking forward to picking him up on Sunday evening.