This morning I will be catching the 9:52am flight to Honduras after having been in the United States for the first time in two-and-a-half years. I had not been back since before Darwin and I started dating.

While talking on the phone with our 10-year-old daughter Gleny about a week ago, she told me that her school principal (whom we know very well due to all the letters she sends home about Gleny and Jason’s behavior, academic struggles and progress, etc!) told Gleny to greet me for her. Gleny’s response: “My mom’s not in Honduras right now. She’s visiting the United States to tell people about God and encourage them.”

So after having attended my old college roommate’s wedding, spending almost every night in a different home, and visiting with many people who support and pray for us along with old family, friends, and coaches, I hope that Gleny’s explanation of my purpose in visiting was, in fact, true.

Gleny also asked Darwin if I would be gone a year, which, of course, was not true. After having gone over with the kids various times and with great detail why I would be gone and for how long, I laughed when Darwin told me of Gleny’s latest exaggeration, and I asked to talk with her. Over the phone, I asked, “Gleny, did you really ask you dad if I’m going to be gone a year?”

Her response: “Well, you just need to come home already.”

So right now I’m on my way home. While I’ve been gone Josue turned seven years old and began his schooling in his special needs school, all three of our guard dogs died by tragic accident, our eldest daughter Dayana showed her paintings at a downtown display and was interviewed on television, the electricity and water in our home went out more times than anyone can count, our second-grade son Jason somehow had a huge turnaround in school and is now the leader of his class, our two eldest daughters graduated from a discipleship program in our sister Jenae’s church, I had my three-year anniversary since moving to Honduras, Darwin was able to finally contract a new trash-collector after our previous one broke his contract and avoided all phone calls (and visits to his home!) after having not come to pick up our trash for over two months, and Darwin has somehow survived as a single dad for over 20 days.

Today is actually our two-year wedding anniversary, so today I will treasure in my heart all that the Lord has done in this journey of 730 days. I will treasure in my heart the fact that the Lord has called us together as a family, that amidst the heaps of trash along the dirt road to our home and the daily difficulties we face in our life in this small corner of the world, the only Living God is working out a miracle of cosmic proportions in the lives of a few average people who’ve said “Yes.”