A familiar smile and the embrace I’ve felt hundreds of times, but have missed so much in the past year and a half, were mine to enjoy for the past three weeks as Chris and I had the privilege of welcoming my Mom into our jungle home for a visit. It was fun to show her both the extraordinary and the everyday things that are a part of living on the other side of the world. She rode on the back of my motor scooter to the traditional market for vegetables and looked at Batik fabrics at the store, visited an orchid farm and went to another island to snorkel and swim with sea turtles. She helped an old Indonesian woman with a sewing project during a craft group at a local community center, and flew along with Chris to see how God allows MAF to serve the people of Borneo using the airplane. It was so special to be able to not just try to tell her what life is like here, but to have her actually experience it.

Throughout the year and a half Chris and I have been in Indonesia I know my parents have gone through so many thoughts and feelings as they have watched us experience the ups and downs of making a new life together in a very foreign land. Through elation and tears they have remained supportive, loving, and encouraging. They have truly been wonderful “senders,” a role that is often unrecognized, but is such a blessing to those that leave for the mission field. I believe that those who willingly send their loved ones to serve are fulfilling a calling as much as those who go to serve. Both roles take sacrifice, trust, and perseverance.

As my Mom returns to the States, I pray she understands in an even more real way how her and my Dad’s willingness to send Chris and I helped us to go forward into the journey God has for us.