We're home!

This is the weather that we left behind in Bolivia...

And this is what we came home to! (Well, this is a picture from last year but you get the idea. A little more snow in this picture than right now.)

We have been home in Chicago for about a week now. We had a wonderful Christmas and it was so great to spend it with our family here in Chicago. Now we look forward to going out to Washington soon to see our family and friends out there.

In one way it feels like Bolivia was one long dream and in another way it was very real. While at church at Christmastime I found myself praying for all those sweet little children we know in Bolivia. My hope is that their families will be a loving refuge for each one of them during this Christmastime and always. Also, I often find myself thinking about or talking about our friends in Bolivia and recounting the many good times we had with them. We made such close friendships there that we will continue to miss them as long as we are apart from them. And now that we are home I realize just how much we learned from people in Bolivia. Our lives are forever changed in many ways after living there.

While there are things we miss about Bolivia it feels really good to be here in Chicago. There is a peace about it that is hard to describe. I can't put my finger on what it is but probably has to do with finally being with family and Chicago friends again and enjoying all those little familiar things that we had been missing while in Bolivia. We really didn't know what we had here til it was gone and it feels good to have it back. I feel like a more whole version of myself. So now we are looking for jobs and will be looking for a new place. Life will inevitably get busier and more hectic but we will always try to integrate the lessons we learned in Bolivia into our lives here and never ever forget the people in Bolivia that loved us so well.