Turmoil to tranquility

The last few weeks have been in one word: crazy!

Wedding

First, there is this whole “getting married” thing. No, seriously, it was a blast, but the two month engagement led to some fast decisions and stressful moments. That being said, it was a beautiful day and fun to celebrate with everyone. I am eager to get all the pictures in the next month or so…

Honeymoon

Well, only Ed and Sarah would plan their honeymoon DURING their honeymoon. That’s not completely true. We had a plan: Cancun. However the post office’s “guaranteed overnight” turned into 6 days shipping so Ed’s passport did not arrive in Oregon before we had planned on leaving. Scratching that we researched several ideas: Houston, Disneyland, and settled on a road/camping trip to Idaho and Montana.

Even though plans changed, we still had a great time and even traveled from the ocean to the continental divide back to the ocean in the 10 days of our honeymoon.

Glacier national Park is SUPER pretty!

Returning

To add some stress, we decided our return flight to Mali would be through hurricane affected area… New Jersey. Actually we had no choice. But we serve a gracious God and he allowed the hurricane to pass through two days before us so that we didn’t get stranded. Thank you!

Also, on the way back we stopped in Barcelona for 6 hours. I was EXTREMELY jet lagged,  but managed to visit the national art museum with my eyes open at least half the time. We also ventured around a mall and enjoyed our last few hours in the first world.

The art museum is in a castle!

Ed did just fine with the jet lag…

On the other hand, I was a wreck!

Landed

Our arrival to Mali was smooth as could be. The flight was less than half full, so everyone was able to have a row to themselves. I laid down and slept the flight away.. missing all drink services.

Getting back to the apartment was an awesome surprise. Many of our friends decided to paint and set up our house for us as a wedding blessing. It was so nice to come home to a made bed, breakfast food and a clean house.

Back in action

We headed into the school to check in and start setting up. Both our classrooms have been painted, and there are new tables being finished! I was able to see my class list and have an all girl class of up to 8 students. I have a good feeling about this group. They seem extra special with “Grace” “Faith” and “Hope”. I am not sure were “Tacko” fits in, but it should be fun!

Tomorrow is the work day and set up. School is gearing up. Plans are being made. And I am eager to get back to my not-so-crazy routine. Bring it on!

Moving back means laundry, right? Oh, Bamako sun… I am glad you are here!