Tour Update

7 weeks ago we were sitting in a rural village in Cambodia as people who'd never seen a white person before gawked awkwardly at me and my daughter.

6 weeks ago we were in Korea slumbering our 10 hour layover away.

5 weeks ago we were bundled up in jackets grocery shopping in a teeny little coastal town in Northern California overlooking the rugged and ominous sparkling blue Pacific Ocean.

4 weeks ago we were walking the breezy streets of Hollywood, California, hanging out in my old star studded stomping grounds.

3 weeks ago we were eating pulled pork barbecue sandwhiches in Ozark, Arkansas smirking affectionately at the locals streaming in the door clad in their overalls and camouflage and thanking God I got to live in a such a different place than I ever would have chosen for myself.

1 week ago I was sitting in an Amish Family's home singing hymns along side them as my child sipped on her bottle of milk I had just squeezed out of their cow's teets moments before.

Today we're in Avilla, Missouri, population 100. There are cows in the backyard, and debris strewn throughout the field courtesy of the tornado that just destroyed the town of Joplin a few miles from here.

Today begins the second half of this tour. 40 days down, 40 to go. There have been some up's and down's, and here's the truth about all that....

There's an excessive amount of down time in between travels days and speaking engagements because Sunday morning church services and Wednesday night Bible Studies only come around once a week. So sometimes we get a little bored :)

It's been fun and cathartic to see people I love. I have waited so long to see some of them.

It can be challenging sometimes to constantly be a "guest", and to maintain "guest etiquette". Everyone has been really great and hospitable, but honestly I'm really looking forward to having our own place.

Ella-Jean is doing pretty good but sometimes something will trigger some homesickness in her and she cries to me that she just wants to go home. Those moments are the hardest. I don't even know what home she is talking about. And everything in me wants to pack our suitcases, cancel everything, get in the car and start driving west as fast as I can.

After some alone time with mom, she is just fine. We talk through it, we talk about all the places we've been, and all the places we still have left to visit, and then we talk about our future home, and all she has to look forward to...and then she is okay.

And when the pressure and mom-guilt get to me, I try to remind myself that I'm doing what I felt God was telling me to do and that this crazy life on the road is temporary. And then I'm okay too.

And finally there are the moments when I'm pouring my heart out to a group of people about how good God is and how faithful he has been to me and people are getting excited, and they're getting encouraged, and they're getting inspired to trust God in deeper ways....and then this crazy tour we're on seems worth it.

Here are a few pics of the last few weeks....

Watching the gorillas at the Los Angeles Zoo

Hanging out with Bekah, our dear friend, for the first time in 8 months.

Posing awkwardly near our future home.

The cute but unfortunately married amish man helping me milk his cow.

EJ is so tried of hearing my speech, especially at 6am.

Ready to go meet the Amish.

First Haircut.

Have you wondered where we'll be planting ourselves after our tour ends? In July we are moving into the teeny tiny cabin made for a hobbit family shown above. It is 3 miles from the ocean, in a redwood forest, on the grounds of a christian hippie commune turned retreat center, turned YWAM base on the coast of Northern California. I am joining staff at YWAM Mendocino and looking forward to living and working there.