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There is no place like home.

But, where is home?

Three years ago, that was an easy question to answer. Now, not so easy. When in Taiwan, I said things such as we fly home in one week. Now that I m in Ohio, I find myself thinking when I get home I need to.... (fill in with multiple job and house related responsibilities).

So once again, I ask where is home?

I guess this is an age old question for those who work and live abroad.

I guess I am blessed to have two homes- my heart home, Ohio, and my daily existence home, Taiwan, where God as planted me and expects growth.

But. no matter how much I love Taiwan, there are things here in Ohio, I truly miss!

Naturally, that list would first of all contain names of dearly loved and missed family and friends. And. of course, foods inaccessible in other parts of the world!

But, I really miss the wide open space! 

So many shades of green. Blue sky. White puffy clouds.

With all the tall buildings blocking the view, I rarely get a good view of the sky. I don't know its about to rain until the drops begin to fall. I don't know a storm is coming until the thunder crashes through the city sounds.

Yesterday, we had the privilege to see some amazing cloud formations as a storm rolled across the countryside.

And, of course, I have dearly missed seeing the sun come up every morning and go back down every night. The sun greeted me each morning in my kitchen and said goodnight as it dipped below the horizon, conveniently viewed from the front windows, or even better, the front porch.

I am still waiting to catch a great sunset on my camera. It has either been cloudy, rainy, or cameraless! I haven't made it up for a sunrise, yet. 

Don't judge me... I'm on vacation!

What's Round on the End and High in the Middle?

O H I O

We have safely arrived. I wish I had some pictures to share.

The five of us packing. 

The extremely fast van drive from our home in Taichung to the airport in Taipei. (On a good day, a hour and a half drive. Tuesday morning was an exceptional day. Our hired van driver got us there in about 70 minutes. Of course, it was before 5 am, when we left.)

The fun times at customs and security!

Our luxurious and tasty airplane meals!

Carl, Ben, Abbi, and Jake resting at the Minneapolis airport! 

Wish you were here kind of photos. I think that most of you don't need the actual pictures to get the idea.

 Thankful the long flight is over. 

Thankful my sister and brother-in-law were able to pick us up at the airport.

Thankful for the wonderful piece of my favorite pizza my sister saved for me.

Thankful for the welcome home hug from my mom.

Thankful for a wonderfully soft bed to fall into.

Thankful for the five hours of sleep. (I give the reader permission to slip in a slight hint of sarcasm on that last one. Sleep is so strange and elusive when traveling for and through large chunks of time). 

(Did I mention that is 4:30  currently am?)

But life is good!

Thank you, Jesus !

Pray for Maggie

The beautiful girl on the left, of course, is my Abbi.

The beautiful young lady on the right, you may not know.

Maggie is her name.

Maggie moved to Taiwan with her parents the same time we did. She and Abbi are classmates. More than classmates. Friends. Close friends. One of Abbi's best friends.

Thursday Maggie and her father were in an accident. Scooter versus truck. Speeding truck. Truck trying to make it through the intersection. As you can imagine, the truck had an unfair advantage.

Both Maggie and her dad are in bad shape. 

Both are in ICU. 

Dad has a collapsed lung, severe concussion, eight broken ribs, shoulder and jaw dislocated. He is awake and in lots of pain. There is also a high concern of blood clots and infection. While he is breathing on his own, he has a long road to recovery. 

Maggie, along with a head injury that is being closely monitored, shattered her femur. Her tibia also received extensive damage. Due to the severity of her injuries, she is heavily sedated. While surgery was performed to repair Maggie's upper leg, she is still in need of more surgery. The doctors are allowing her body to stabilize before continuing.

This morning, Abbi was allowed a brief visit with Maggie. Abbi, Carl, and I went back again tonight. Carl and I briefly went in to pray over Maggie as she rested. It was clearly evident the trauma Maggie suffered.

So please pray for Maggie and her father. They both have a long, painful, difficult summer ahead of them. But God is in control. And while we were all shocked by this horrifying accident, He was not! HE WAS WITH THEM IN THE MIDST OF THE ACCIDENT AND HE IS WITH THEM NOW! 

I didn't mean to capitalize the last sentence, but somehow did (I am a horrible typist). I started to fix it, but I am not going to. 

But while you are asking God to heal Maggie and her father, I would like to ask you to pray for a couple other people. 

Maggie's mom.

 Her beloved husband and daughter are severely injured, recovering in different ICU units, requiring extensive medical attention. She has had little sleep over the last two days and under a tremendous amount of stress. God has provided her with lot's of spiritual, emotional, and physical support from friends, coworkers, and fellow church members.  Please pray for continuing peace and joy throughout the next several months.

My last request is a selfish one, for although not life threatening, is near and dear to my heart. Please pray for Abbi. It is not easy for one so young to see a close friend so hurt, so damaged. In addition, we are scheduled to fly out Tuesday. It will be extremely difficult for Abbi to leave, especially if Maggie is still in ICU and sedated. She wants to be here to encourage, support, and uphold Maggie during her road of recovery.

As a mom, it hurts to watch her hurt. 

Words are not enough.

All I can give are hugs.

And prayers.

Will you please join me in praying?