Life in the States...for now.

I know this post has been a long time coming and it has taken me several months to even write it.  I want you to know before you read it that we, the Kings, are happy and healthy!

We have been back in the states now since the last weekend in May.  When we came back stateside, it was not a planned thing (meaning months in advance).   We had about 4 days of prep to prepare to come back to the states for an amount of time that we were not sure about.  "Why did you come back?"or "What happened?" are two questions we got a lot at first and still do.  At first, these were questions that I could not answer without crying.  I could try and try to explain why we needed to leave Africa for awhile but I don't think I could describe it well to those who have never lived where we have lived.  I know my co-workers and friends in Africa can empathize but I have found it difficult to explain to others who have not lived overseas.  Sure we had a few traumatic things happen while we were in Africa that anyone could empathize with, but the everyday life in Africa was also stressful and hard to describe.

Our family dealt with a good amount of stress while overseas.  I am not saying that our family has experienced the worst.  I know others that have gone through things that make our stressors look like small, fluffy kittens.  None the less, we were stressed to the max.  Let me just say (and I am being really honest and open here) that I am pretty sure I cried everyday during our last 3 months in Africa (March, April, and May).  I am pretty sure I was depressed but could hide it pretty well from others looking from the outside in.  I had heard that a lot of missionaries struggled with depression on the field and I have no clue why I thought I would be exempt from it.  Brad was struggling too (with stress) but we both express our stressors differently....I was sad.  All to say that our stress was greatly affecting our children, especially Macy.  We did not come home for health issues, but health issues did add to our stress...make sense?  Macy, our 6 year old, did not handle stress well.  When we lived in West Africa, Macy developed esophageal ulcers and did not eat solid food for over a month.  Was it caused purely by stress?  We are not 100% sure.  The doctors in Nairobi could not pinpoint a cause.  Then in Uganda, Macy developed motor tics back in November 2012.  At first they were small and generalized to her face, but in April and May the tics got worse, involved other body parts, they were occurring daily, and causing her pain.  This made our stress worse, which made her tics worse....see the vicious cycle here?  One CRAZY day in Uganda, the "straw broke the camel's back" and we just had to get out or we were going to lose it mentally.   Thus, our trip back to the states.  

Because of our timing in coming back to the states and the time it took to set up neurologist appointments for Macy, we knew we would be here until at least Mabry was born.  When we first came back, that first week, Macy's tics were worse than ever before.  It was STRESSFUL coming back to the states.  Don't get me wrong....everything was sooooooo very clean and nice and beautiful and wonderful.  I mean, I thought the Atlanta airport was glorious and restrained myself from hugging the nice customs people!  Before I had always hated the Atlanta airport....no more my friend, no more. However, after we recovered from jet lag and began to relax Macy's tics slowly disappeared one by one and she no longer cried at night from muscle pain from the uncontrollable movements.  Now, she really only has one tic movement and it is small and not too noticeable.

From the moment we left Africa that last weekend in  May we cried out to God to please reveal to us what we needed to do as a family in regard to where to serve Him....go back to Africa or stay stateside for a while.  I guess it is evident now that we decided to stay in the states.  This was probably the hardest decision me and Brad have ever made.  It was not made lightly and much prayer and counsel were sought on our part. I went through a time where I was so embarrassed and deeply saddened that we had to leave the field.  We were "that" family that didn't make it.   I know now that those feelings of guilt and embarrassment were just lies from the enemy crippling me from being effective where the Lord had me at that time.

The Lord has been SO GOOD to our family.  He spared us so much stress for just allowing us to come back to the states when we did.  The week I had Mabry (August 22nd) I also had to have my gallbladder taken out.  I am so very thankful that I was stateside when all that happened and that family was able to help Brad and I out along the way.  Also, should we have had Mabry in Nairobi, Kenya my mom was scheduled to fly into Nairobi the week the airport there burnt down!  I could go on and on!!!!

So, what are we doing now?  Well, our resignation from the IMB was official about 2 months ago now.  When we resigned we immediately started looking for new jobs.  I am a pharmacist and really believed it would be super easy to find a job...I was wrong.  There were NO jobs available in Cleveland and I did not want to have to drive far from home to work.  However, there was a new grocery store going up in Cleveland that had a pharmacy in it and I simply prayed that if it was the Lord's will that He would give me that job.  I was proactive and reached out to this new grocery store, found the pharmacy supervisor's phone number and gave him a call.  After leaving a message and not hearing from him for 2 weeks they called me for an interview for the next day!!!  I don't really know what I expected BUT they offered me the job on the spot and I took it! What an answered prayer!  I am now working full time as a pharmacist again and Brad is getting to stay home with the girls and play Mr. Mom.  We are enjoying this season of our lives but are always prayerful about what is to come next.  Where will Brad have his next ministry job? Will we have to move again?  How long do we get to live close to family?  I don't have the answers to these questions nor do I worry about them.  I do know that the Lord is faithful and sovereign.  If I have learned anything the past 2 years that one truth stands out among the rest.

We miss our life in Africa for the most part.  Not a day goes by that I don't think about our friends there or remember what life was like there.  God graciously allowed us to live there and we are different people now because of our time there.  Our world view has changed for the better. I am honored to have served there and to have gotten to know some of the great nationals that I will forever love in both West Africa and in Uganda.  We actually stay in contact with a few of our national friends and still pray that those who don't know the Lord will soon know Him one day! What a privilege it was to take the Gospel to those places!  My heart breaks on some days that I can't be there right now.  However, I know that I can support those who are there with prayer and financial giving.  I want to give a "shout-out" to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering right now.  If it were not for this offering from Southern Baptist churches our time in Africa would not have been possible.  Our medical treatment in Africa, airplane rides, homes, food, sharing the name of Christ, you name it...the Lottie Moon makes it possible.  Please prayerfully consider donating to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering...it surely made an impact on our lives!

So for now, we will serve the Lord in Cleveland, TN. (The town that Brad and I both grew up in and where our immediate families reside.)  I will serve as a mom, wife, and community pharmacist and Brad will minister to our family. Maybe one day we will be able to return to Africa or another exotic and exciting place where the gospel is not. The possibilities are endless but for now we are here in good'ol Tennessee and loving it!  I have learned to live life to the fullest where I am and serve Jesus joyfully regardless of my circumstances.

Culture Adjustment....in the States!

We, as a family, have been back in the states now for a little over a month.  Let's just say that we needed a break from Africa and are resting and de-stressing in the states for a while.  Because of the timing of our break and some medical appointments that needed to be made, I will also deliver our new King baby girl (still have not completely decided on a name) in the states too.  I am due August 30th...so I will probably deliver via scheduled c-section the last week of August.

We had been gone from the states for almost 21 months.  I figured we would experience some culture shock, but let me tell you....the Atlanta airport was just glorious.  Everything was orderly, people were smiling and talking in a southern accent, I could see my reflection in the floors, and I had to explain what a water fountain was to the girls (and that the water was safe to drink out of it!).  We were slightly tired (we had one last airplane ride from Atlanta to Chattanooga to make) after traveling (including layovers) 25 hours.  Because our short layover in Atlanta we did not have time to sit and eat a real meal....so we bought a bag of skittles, 2 hotdogs, a cherry coke (DELICIOUS), a coke, and a mountain dew.  (Mind you...we had coke in Uganda but not cherry coke...best cherry coke I have ever drank!) The girls did great and I think Brad de-stressed a little by wearing his crazy African made suit jacket (so it would not get wrinkled in our duffels) through each airport.  He got some laughs and crazy looks so me and the girls walked about 3 feet behind him most of the walks through the airports! Ha!

One of the best things about being back is the comments from Macy and Mara or things we have had to explain to them that either they did not know or had forgotten.  Mostly for Mara it is all explaining.  Mara's earliest memories seem to be from when we moved to West Africa.  She still refers to Mali as home and only seems to have very little recollection from the states.  However, Macy remembers a lot of things but we also have to explain things to her too.

So...here are some things that Macy (will be 6 in August) has said that are just too cute that comes from her life in Africa for the past 2 years or things she just does not understand yet:

•   "Momma!!!! There is number 4!!!!"   Need an explanation....Macy had been keeping a tally of the number of brown people that she saw the first week that we were back in the states.  We were driving downtown Cleveland, TN and Macy spotted the fourth brown man she had seen in a couple of days and was so excited.  She proceeded to point at him and I told her pointing is not polite but that waving was ok.  She waved at him instead! :) 
• "Papaw, is this all your property?  Man, you sure are lucky....you can pee anywhere you want!" 
• Brad shot a muskrat in the backyard/creek area of his dad's house and Macy said, "Man, that looks delicious!"  (No, we did not eat it.)
• "Where are all the people on the side of the road, momma?"  In Uganda, there are thousands of people daily walking down the street just inches, sometimes centimeters, from our car.  While driving down the interstate one day we had to explain to Macy some of the simpler rules of the road in America.  

Mara has said some cute things too and is continuing to say/do certain things that we have to explain to people also !

• "These bathtubs are MAGICAL!"  She was amazed the water did not go down the drain without a stopper/plug jammed into the hole.  
• "I want some more of the colored circle things."  We had introduced her to Fruit Loops! 
• Mara picked up somewhat of a British accent in Uganda and still says things that may need some explaining to our southern friends:
• "It is paining me!"   (Instead of using the word "hurt" the Ugandans say "pain")
• "I need to go susu."  This equals, "I need to pee."
• She uses commands all the time instead of asking.  This is culturally appropriate in Uganda, however, I am trying to get her to implement the word "PLEASE" somewhere in her statement! :)
• She will occasionally still stand on the toilet seat when using the bathroom. (Pooping God's way is what we called it in Africa!) Hopefully this does not offend anyone....it is just the way it is done in most parts of Africa AND she was potty trained right around the time we went to do some extra training in the bush in Zambia. :)  

What have I found the most challenging since being back?  At first it was the driving.  I bet we had not gone faster (most days for the past year) than 30 to 40 miles per hour.  Getting on the interstates here in the states gave me just a little anxiety.  Also, the first week back every time we went out into our hometown of Cleveland, TN I wondered if the raptured had occurred.  I mean, where was everyone?!?!  No one was walking on the roads and no one was within a couple of inches of my car! 

Hopefully you have enjoyed a small insight into our lives the past month! Blessings!