First of all, I just wanted to let everyone know that my mom, David, Ella, and Sadie Grace made it home safely. David and my dad did have malaria when they left but they have both recovered, thank goodness. Sadie Grace also threw up a few times on the flight and when she reached home, but she is better now. It has been so good to have almost everyone back together and in a normal routine of things. I will be excited when my dad and Samson can come home and we will all be together again! So just please pray that they will be able to make it home by the end of this month (that’s what we are hoping!)
So its has been a little over a month since I have been back and I would say the first few weeks for me were really hard. I think words can not even describe how I felt (or maybe other members of our family). Initially, it was really hard for me to leave Zambia. I think even harder then I thought. When I first got there it was a big adjustment on me to be there and I would say harder then I thought it would be. I remember lying in bed the first few nights just crying wishing we could come home. I was not used to the slower pace of life, being in at 6:00 and having nothing to do, nowhere to go or fill your afternoons up, and no friends to call and hang out with. I even remember standing in the kitchen one day telling my mom I think I will be lucky if we can make it until December. I was even like “mom can we just come home at Christmas, I mean wouldn’t that be such a great surprise?” Little did I know, at that time that God had a bigger and better plan for me and that He was going to change my heart dramatically. Now I can say that leaving Zambia was probably the hardest goodbye I have ever had. It was not only the people, but the lifestyle we had there, and the sweet memories we had as a family living in Zambia. To be honest, I was not ready to come home and I told my mom if she changed our plane tickets I would have been perfectly fine with that. So the whole way to the airport was sad for us all. I think Mary Frances, Virginia, mom, and I all cried off and on the entire drive to the airport. Then when the plane was taking off Virginia and I cried the whole way to South Africa. What made it sad was thinking that our family was being disconnected and I did not know if we would have the chance to live in Zambia again as a family, and not knowing if I would ever see the orphans, or friends we had met ever again. The whole time I was hoping and praying that these would be “temporary” goodbyes.
So when we flew in to Atlanta we had a surprise of many friends and family waiting for us at the airport. Even though it was so great to see everyone it was so overwhelming. I just remember the first couple weeks of being back people were like “Are you not just you so glad to be back in America, and back to all the great conveniences and nice stuff” and honestly I did not know what to say. Because in my mind I was thinking, “Actually I really am not. Being back for me is really hard, and I would be perfectly fine staying in Zambia with the heat, dirt roads, hard work, etc”. Being back and seeing everything that we as Americans are consumed with has been hard and I hope it continues to be hard for me and that I don’t get sucked back into my old self. Yes, it has been great to see friends and family but if I could hop on a plane to go back to Zambia tomorrow I would! I miss every bit of it. I miss the great friendships we made, I miss the smile on the orphans face every Monday, I miss teaching P.E. to the sweet CCM kids every morning, I even miss all the sweet memories our family made like dancing and singing while doing dirty dishes, or bible study, or movie nights, or game nights, etc. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of all those memories and wish I could relive that year, or that we could live as a family in Zambia again and make even more memories. But, I do want to thank God for the memories we got to make and I hope He gives us,( and even you) memories to make again in Zambia, Africa! As of right now I would love to go back to Zambia next summer and maybe even for a longer period down the road. If you could just pray for me that I would know and obey what God has in store for my life (and if it is Zambia then great 🙂 but if it is not, then I would be ok to that. I would greatly appreciate your prayers when you think of me. Thanks for all your support in our journey to Zambia, Africa!
Love in Christ,
Lydia
PS: UPDATE FROM SHELLEY
Please pray for Dave as he has been in the capital city of Zambia for 6 of the past 9 business days trying to obtain the correct documents for the US side of the adoption. After 5 days of working and waiting, he obtained 2 of the 3 documents that were needed only to realize that the Zambian Registrar’s office had printed Samson’s birthday incorrectly. Dave is emotionally and physically drained and needs to be able to obtain the correct documents today so that he can FED Ex the paperwork to Johannesburg to be reviewed and accepted by the US. Dave’s plan is to return to Kitwe today, pick up Samson (who has been staying with friends), stay in Kitwe for 2 more weeks, and then return to Lusaka with Samson and await the approval of the paperwork. After the paperwork is approved, Dave and Samson will have 3 days worth of doctor and government visits to do and they they will travel home. Coming on the end of a year that has been physically draining makes this particularly hard for Dave. Pray for Dave’s health also as it has wavered between good and bad most of the year.
Love,
Shelley