Transitioning from the Susu Project of Guinea to the Kono Project of Sierra Leone during the COVID-19 pandemic kept us in the missionary field without a furlough break for longer than anticipated—seven years. Praise God because in His own time, “He has made all things beautiful” by bringing us back to the U.S. on furlough until December 10. We anticipate this break to be refreshing and filled with great planning. We are grateful for all your prayers and support for making it happen.

Getting here was challenging. Our host country was heavily campaigning for a general election, and the country was on edge, expecting violence. We timed our furlough with this in mind. When we flew out, heavy downpours delayed our flight to Ghana, causing us to miss our connecting flight to Chicago. We were rerouted to Holland, where we had a six-hour layover, then an ensuing bump to Chicago before finally arriving in Columbus, Ohio, at 4:00 a.m.—minus our luggage. Oh, the joys of travel.

My wife’s sister picked us up at the airport and took us to her house (where we visited until a condo became available at the AFM training center). The next day, I informed the airline that we did not get our baggage. Thus began our two-week wait for our luggage to arrive. While waiting, a family member spent some time with our daughters, taking them to Virginia.

We finally arrived in Berrien Springs, Michigan. We had been in the field for so long that our driver’s licenses expired. Praise God that I passed the written and road tests to renew my license. We were also blessed with the loan of a vehicle to travel in during our furlough. We look forward to visiting supporters and sharing stories about how God has blessed and guided us in the field.

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