Thursday, April 2, 2009

Bonjour,

I will bring you up to date on the past few days before telling about today.

On Monday evening when we got to the airport, we said our goodbyes to
the Engelharts, Lenell, Max, Romeo, and Julian. They stood out to make
sure that we made it through check-in. When we got to the front of the
check-in line, the computers quit working. They wrote out the boarding
passes by hand and were trying to decide what to do about the baggage
tags when the computers finally came back on. Those who had come to see
us off were still waiting. We waved goodbye to them as we headed upstairs.

We went through security and boarded the airplane. Just as we were
getting seated on the airplane, a stewardess came to get Joe; he was
being paged by the police. They had scanned the bags and saw some
souvenir items and thought that we were tourists. They told Joe that he
was going to give them some beer money. Joe told them that he is a
pastor and that he doesn't give beer money. They said, "Oh, if you're a
pastor, please pray for us." Joe prayed for them, and they sent him on
his way back to the airplane.

The children all slept for most of the six-hour flight from Abidjan to
Brussels. Bonnie was asleep before the plane left the runway. Both
boys slept right through the meal.

We had a five-hour layover in Brussels. We ate some breakfast and
walked around before heading to our terminal. The boys were eager to
get on the airplane.

When the plane was up in the air, Danny kept asking where the plane
was. We told him that we were in it, but he wanted to see it. Gilbert
was convinced that the plane wasn't moving because he kept seeing those
same white clouds. Bonnie got passed around on the second flight while
the adults took turns sleeping. Joe's mom was such a help to us; we are
so thankful that she was able to come. She had a bag full of surprises
for the boys; that kept them occupied.

We landed in New York almost an hour early. We found a place to store
our baggage. Then, we took a taxi to the Empire State Building. We met
my sister Emily there and got to spend a little time with her family
before heading back to the airport. The boys were so happy to meet one
of their new cousins. Jack is three weeks younger than Bonnie. We
headed back to the airport and made our way to the gate for our last
flight.

The boys were wound up for the first thirty minutes or so. Then, they
crashed. Bonnie slept most of the flight too.

My parents and Joe's dad were there to meet us at the airport. It was
so good to see them. After we got our bags, we headed to a restaurant.
We enjoyed our time of fellowship. Then, we went to a motel to crash.
Gilbert slept in Grandpa and Grandma's room. Danny thought he would,
but he only made it about five steps out the door before he decided to
stay with Mom and Dad.

On Wednesday morning, Bonnie and Danny both woke up at 4:00 A.M., but
they went back to sleep until about 6:30. We are still on African time.

We all went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Then, we went to the
Grapevine Mills Mall before we headed our separate ways. We rode with
Joe's parents to Center. We stopped at Wendy's for lunch. We made it
home just in time to get ready for church and head back that way. It
was nice to see everyone at church. Both boys fell asleep and didn't
even wake up when we put them in their beds. Bonnie fell asleep on the
way home and stayed asleep too.

This morning, both boys woke up at 4:00. Joe talked them into sleeping
for another hour. They were both up for good at 5:00. Bonnie slept
until 6:00.

By 10:00 A.M., the boys were winding down again. We fed them and put
them down for naps. Bonnie went to sleep too. Then, Joe and I headed
to the doctor. We ran a couple errands on the way and stopped for lunch
before going to the doctor. We ate at a Mexican restaurant; the food
was delicious!

My doctor's appointment went well. The doctor gave me some medicine
samples to start taking. I will have some lab work done in the morning
just to make sure that nothing has been overlooked.

The boys had fun with Papa while we were gone. He took them for a ride
on his mule; it's bigger than a four-wheeler. The boys also played
baseball with Betsy. Gilbert loves to hit that ball. Bonnie went shoe
shopping with Betsy; she did good too.

We have been trying to keep the boys busy tonight so that they would
stay awake until bed time. We are trying to help them get back on track.

Please pray for Nannie, Joe's grandma. She has been vomiting since
yesterday and was admitted to the hospital this afternoon. The doctor
thinks she has some type of a virus as well as diverticulitis.

You may not hear from us quite as frequently while we are in the States,
but we will try to keep you informed about what is going on.

A demain,

Joe, Laura, Gilbert, Danny, and Bonnie