Making the Most of Our Time at Home

hummingbird at feeder on Jean's porch.
I watched it every morning over coffee.

I had really hoped to have  a few hours of unscheduled time for quiet reflection in the week prior to, or just after our departure from the US and return to Tanzania. That was not to be the case. And that is not to say that things were bad, but those weeks were solidly packed with frenetically scheduled relational activities punctuated by brief periods of exhaustation and jet lag.

But I do want to try to squeeze in a few thoughts here as we are on the cusp of entering back into a more normal rhythm of routine. (The kids actually go back to school on Monday!) I had decided to write a single synopsis of our time in the US, so I will try here to pick up somewhere near the last entry.

We left Arusha on July 18th for a 4 week stint in the US. We flew Turkish Air through Istanbul and arrived in Dulles at night the next day. We were picked up by Rebecca's parents Dave and Jean Sack and planned to make our home in the US with them in Fallston, MD (near Baltimore) for the time we there. Fortunately my parents also live about 20 minutes from Dave and Jean's house and after a night's sleep we had our first big event, re-celebrating Rebecca's birthday with both sets of parents. Seeing them is one of the main reasons we go back in the summer so it was nice to spend time together on the first weekend.

Jon and Emma visit.

Most of the first week was spent making appointments to catch up with friends as well as doctors. It was quite a whirlwind as we have many families from our church as well as friends from our old neighborhood and long time family friends to catch up with. I think we did something with a different person every meal. Some of the highlights included Kate and James, the Hoards, Charlene, several families in our old neighborhood, Rebecca's brother and sister-in-law--Paul and Gwendolyn with cousins Miriam and Gabriel, Pastor Dave, and others.

We were also surprised by a vist at the end of the first week from my brother Jonathan and Emma and cousin Fletcher who came up from Nashville to see my parents. It was great to see them again and reflect on our amazing shared holiday on safari and in Zanzibar two weeks before. We were not expecting to see them again this trip. The cousins were thrilled to be together again. We also had some nice times with my parents who are in a lovely retirement home with fabulous grounds. We had a great time playing putt-putt golf and bocce ball as a family, and had a great meal together in their restaurant dining room.

Fort McHenry tradition.

Between visits, we also scheduled activities we like to do when we are home, that included visiting the aquarium, train museum, Fort McHenry, and doing fishing in the Little Gunpowder river and Lochraven reservoir. Sometimes we had to divide and conquer, or sent Grandma Jean with the kids on one of these outings as there were just too many people and places to see.

crab feast

Eating the foods we missed was also a priority those first two weeks. I think we had grilled salmon and Maryland sweet corn on the cob about 6 times in the first two weeks. Mint chip ice cream and rootbeer (not together) were also consumed in ample quantities. Among the gastronomical highlights I would also mention going out for sushi with newly married Kate and James from our former small group in Baltimore, who had come out to visit us in Arusha last year shortly after their engagement. The kids also wanted crab and we did do that once with Rebecaa's folks.

We saw other church friends as we were able to attend services at North Baltimore Mennonite Church three of the four Sundays we were home. We even had a lunch with Pastor Dave early in our second week. We also stopped by and visited our home on Jody Way where our Ethiopian friends are renting. They have been very active in our church as well, with their second son Israel playing a major role in youth ministry. It was nice to see them and to see our house in such good condition.

Another big surprise in our second week was a visit from some old friends who had left Poughkeepsie New York a few years after we did. 'Pastor Bob' and his wife Frances, who were in the process of moving to Wisconsin to be closer to grandchildren came to Baltimore and spent about 3 days with us at Rebecca's parents' house. It was great to see them and catch up after not seeing each other for many years. They are entering a new phase in life (his retirement from pastoral ministry) and as part of this change, relocation as well as her completion of a 3 year course in spiritual direction, Frances asked if Rebecca would do an immersion baptism of her. A small group of us, including me and the kids, Jean Sack and another close friend of Frances joined us for the ceremony which was done in the Little Gunpowder, not far from the Sack house. It was a meaningful rite followed by fun splashing around in the shallow river afterwards, led by David. Their visit was a highlight of our second week.

Week three was set apart from the others because it was the only one for which we planned to travel outside of Baltimore. We wanted to have some time with Rebecca's family, her brother Paul's family and her parents, away from the distractions of work in Baltimore. Paul Sack had booked an Airbnb in the Poconos (Pennsylvania). It was a resort condominium near a lake (and ski resort in the winter). Needless to say there was no snow, but no lack of things to do. There was a tennis court right behind the house which we used to play both tennis and pickle ball nearly every day. The lake was a long walk or short drive away, and we enjoyed swimming, and renting pontoon boats and standing paddle boards for sight seeing and fishing.

We spent the evenings playing board games. Paul and Gwendolyn are avid gamers and had brought quite a few new ones which they introduced us to. A particular favorite was called Quack, where you try to make a potion using ingredients you collect and draw out of a bag. The kids enjoyed playing many card and board games together as well.

We had two very special days on our trip. On Wednesday we went to a huge ropes course about 45 minutes from where we were staying. The kids and I did the course as well as Paul and Gwendolyn's whole family (cousins Miriam and Gabriel). Rebecca had pulled a muscle in her shoulder the day before and decided to sit out and take pictures. There were about 6 courses that varied in degree of difficulty. We were able to finish 3 of them in the time we had. They also had a zipline that went half way down a mountain. It was really fun, although I might have enjoyed it the most in our family.

On Friday we took another excursion, this time to an amusement Park. Again I think it was me that was most enthusiastic to go to an amusement park, which was always an essential part of any summer vacation growing up. Dorney Park was enormous, bigger than Hershey Park and also had a gigantic water park attached to it. We arrived at about 10 am and left at 10pm when they closed. I could not possibly describe all the things we did in the day, but David really loved the water park. Oren and David both liked rides that involved a lot of spinning. For me, I went on every single roller coaster (there were around 10). Some were absolutely insane to look at before getting on, but they were all fantastic rides. For the last ride of the night Rebecca and I went together on the highest one in the park. It was a blast.

We returned to Baltimore on Saturday, which gave us just enough time for us to prepare to give a mision moment in church the next day, and for Rebecca to preach a sermon at North Baltimore Mennonite. She preached on the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, but really managed to land a profoundly meaningful insight into the importance of the resurrection in the life on North Baltimore Mennonite. It was very moving to many as North Baltimore has been finding its way to reflect Christ in their committment to being a welcoming church, and a church committed to racial justice in Baltimore city. How do we let the reality of the resurection guide our mission, rather than letting our small agendas determine our understanding of who God is and what he is doing in the church and the world. (Here is a link ot the sermon.)

It was our last Sunday in Baltimore as we were leaving the following Saturday. After church we met Rebecca, and my parents as well as our family friend Charlene at Kathmandu Kitchen, a traditional after church lunch stop for our family where they serve a nice Indian food buffet. It was great to have this group together, for not the last time in the week.

The rest of the last week was kind of a whirlwind and it is hard to remember everything we crammed in. One highlight was a date night for Rebecca and I. Dave and Jean Sack have an apartment downtown they sometimes use when they don't want to commute home from work. It is close to Johns Hopkins as well as the waterfront. Rebecca and I went down and had a lovely dinner then stayed at the apartment while the grandparents divided and conquered the kids. (David stayed with my parents and Oren stayed with Dave and Jean.) David played many board games with my parents, especially Mousetrap. Oren, a WWII buff watched Saving Private Ryan with Dave and Jean. When we came home the next afternoon, the kids were very happy.

I appreciated seeing the kids help around the house. David loved to pick things, and there were almost daily bushels of tomatoes, a few blackberries, peaches and green beans which he would go out first thing in the morning to gather. Oren was not as much into gardening but did really like to mow the lawn on their large John Deere tractor mower. They both enjoyed helping my mom make chocolate chip cookies.

As we moved into our last 3 days, we took a trip down to Charter Hall, the retreat center on the Chesapeake Bay where Rebecca and now our kids have spent time in each summer since birth. We all love to go there and we enjoy canoeing down to an old railway bridge, fishing, swimming, kayaking, and walking around the edge of the estuary where it is located. We spent a long day, there but not the night as time was running short and we had many things to do.

The kids were also given 'last wishes' of things they wanted to do and David chose the Zoo while Oren wanted to go to Washington DC to see the Smithsonian museum. I took Oren to Washington while Rebecca to took David to the zoo. It was nice for each of us to have a day with just one kid. Oren and I went to the Air and Space museum, the museum of American History, and the Natural History museum before making our way back home.

Friday night we had our "Last Supper" with my family and Rebecca's family. It was a very nice evening and a chance to pray together in preparation for departure. I am glad we were leaving Saturday evening, because we had a lot of packing left on Saturday morning and were ambitiously trying to cram all of our camping gear into our 8 allowed suitcases. It was a tight squeeze but we made it.

Dave and Jean took us to Dulles airport on Saturday evening and we said final goodbyes, ritually eating some of my mom's chocolate chip cookies before making our way through security. I was pleasantly surprised to find we were flying back to Istanbul on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner! It really was quite a pleasant and fascinating experience. They very effectively create an internal environment using tinted windows that mimic a sunset, night, and sunrise the next day. Even if you are flying in broad daylight. The air seemed fresher as well.

The second flight from Istanbul to Arusha was a less comfortable 737, packed full, and one bathroom quit working about midway through the 8 hour flight. We got to Arusha about 5am on Monday and back to our house by 6. I was planning to go to work so I went to the pool at 7am for a freezing cold swim, then was at the office by 8:30. By 1pm I was so jet lagged that I almost fell asleep with my face in my laptop.  Over the next several days it got better.

The first week of work has been incredibly busy which is why writing a blog has been so hard. I have had to catch up on many reports and a new volunteer just arrived. We have been getting ready for the start of Sunday School as well next week, so we are kind of running to stand still, but that should smooth out the coming week because the kids go back to school tomorrow which means we have the whole day to work and not have to worry about what they are doing at home.

More about our arrival home next week...

Bonus Photos:

Rebecca and Jean at Charter Hall

Kate, James, and Sushi boat

bluegill on Lake Harmony

Dorney Park

Visiting with Charlene