Saturday, May 26, 2007

A Safe Return

Just a couple of sample photos from our time in North America...


Visiting with friends in Indiana

Visiting with Eric's parents in California
We have just returned from a whirlwind and harrowing trip to the US and Canada. We participated in a two-week orientation/training with CRWRC. Many were confused that we were just now going through orientation given that we have been in the field for almost a year. Well, we were the guinea pigs. CRWRC is now sending people to the field more quickly and then bringing them back after 8-10 months in the field for orientation. The hope is that we will have more pertinent questions once we have been in the field. We, for the most part, found this to be helpful. While we had some sessions on introductory issues, we also were able to ask some more detailed questions based on our experience. We spent one week in the Grand Rapids office and one week in the Burlington, Ontario office.

While we were in the US, we also took this opportunity to catch up with some friends, family and supporting churches. Our base was at Mom’s Terre Haute B & B. From here we enjoyed time with our family and friends based in the area. We also enjoyed some time in California with some of Eric’s family. One other highlight was Martha’s dad and his wife visiting from Florida. It was great of them to make the trip up and to bring along our dog. It was so much fun to visit with everyone. We only wish that we could have had more of it! We are sorry if we missed you this trip. We couldn’t possibly catch everyone so we will have to catch you on the next one.
For now, Team Smith is settled back into life in Arua. We are getting ready to host our good friend, Tanya, followed by a visit from Martha’s Mom, followed by....