Last Day for Matt

Today is Matt's last day in Guatemala.

Yesterday, we spent a good part of the day packing. Matt went to Martin's with the 4Runner to get new brakes put on the front and to adjust the ones on the back. We're hoping not to use them too much, as we'd like to make good time through Mexico, but since Martin said he couldn't make the horn any louder, we worked on the brakes.

David, Craig, and Juan are still here working on Roy's roof. And Roy and a few of the guys are coming over this morning to help some more.

Then tonight, the rest of the team comes in. It was a bit of a surprise visit, brought on by some other circumstances, but we're always happy to have them!

At 3:45am, Matt will roll out of bed and meet Martin at 4:00 to head towards the border. We're hoping to be there about the time it opens, cross in around an hour, then make it to Veracruz, Mexico to sleep.

With any luck, we won't run into too much hurricane devastation near Brownsville. We cross the border about 20 miles inland, so we're hoping for smooth sailing... Well, maybe a water analogy isn't what we're looking for here.

In all seriousness, we pray for all the people in that area. We know firsthand what it's like to deal with hurricanes and to come home to find your possessions soaked and destroyed. No fun. So while it may be a minor inconvenience for us, for some, it's all they have.

Also, with any luck, Matt will be in Houston in time to go to church at the Woodlands Methodist Church on Sunday. Then it'll be some errands in Houston, some studio time with Trip during the week, then rent a UHaul and head to North Carolina.

Heidi and Isaac will ride down to Guatemala City with Roy on Sunday and fly out Monday morning - to North Carolina. Her dad will meet them at the airport and they'll have a week at his house, then head to Atlantic Beach for a family week there. We're hoping Matt will arrive in time to ride down with them.

After a week on the beach, we fly to New Mexico to visit Michael, Michelle, and Luke - Matt's cousins.

Then Heidi and Isaac fly back to North Carolina and Matt flies to Detroit to supervise the packing of our stuff there. A moving van will take it all down to Winterville, North Carolina, where we'll be renting a house for a bit.

Around September 1st, Matt's parents will come down to hang out with us for a few weeks. On September 4th, Matt flies to Atlanta for a friend's wedding, from Atlanta to Houston to meet Don Allison, and then they drive back through Mexico to Guatemala.

Don and his family are moving to Canilla to work with the orphanage in San Andres and with the Fickers. Don's never been through Mexico and Matt will be a third timer by then.

After all that, it'll be time to try to settle into a new life. (Did we mention that Heidi starts work at East Carolina University on Sept 2?)

Heidi did her undergrad work at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She then worked for a year as a pharmacist at ECU, then went to medical school there. After four years in Houston and two in Guatemala, she's heading home to be on faculty at ECU.

God has provided a wonderful job for us in a beautiful town, much closer to family and friends and we are very thankful for it. While we will miss Guatemala every day, we will stay in touch - often through our quarterly visits here with Heidi's job. (It's nice to negotiate things like that, isn't it???)

This will probably be the last post for a little while, as we'll be scattered all over for a few days. Thanks to all of you for your readership, your interest, your support, and MOSTLY your prayers. This has been a life changing experience for us and we urge you to follow God's call for you in your life, too. It is ALWAYS better than anything you could come up with on your own!