Missionaries and airplanes go together. Just paper airplanes today — the real one flies September 1!
It’s official. The Steeles are coming to the States for a visit!
Earlier this year, Joshua and I discussed plans to take our whole family back to the States in the fall of 2021. It’s been three years since we were stateside, and we also had a baby during that period whom the majority of our family members have never met. However, as we talked over details for a trip, several factors led us to determine that the timing wasn’t right. At least, that’s what we thought then. We ended up shelving our plans with the intention to revisit them in 2022.
It seems that God had other ideas! Just two weeks ago, all the plans unexpectedly came back out on the table and things started happening fast. From the moment of decision, we had less than a month to get our family ready to change continents.
As you might expect, we are very excited about new experiences, traveling, and meeting up with new and old friends. Joshua will be speaking at two conferences: the Black Hills Mini Shindig in South Dakota and the 4th ICA Fellowship Camp in northern Ohio. We plan to stop in with many dear friends as we travel between locations and back to Texas. We also can’t wait to see our parents and loved ones again and make memories together!
All eight of us are required to have COVID tests before we can fly. Please pray they all come back negative! A single positive test could seriously hamper our plans. We know God is able!
On the other hand, travel to the States always comes with a certain amount of stress. Our normal rhythms have to be set aside, and living away from home for a lengthy period presents challenges. Before we even depart, there are a myriad of details to attend to, including getting our documents in order and canceling our temporary residency in Ukraine. Additionally, there are the challenges that COVID presents. Each member of our family will need to be tested before traveling. We know our God is going before us, and it’s no big thing for him to arrange negative COVID tests for all 8 of us if that’s what He wants. We would appreciate your prayers for our travel and our sanity as we prepare for and embark on this trip.
We look forward to seeing many of you very soon!
