I LOVE NEW ENGLAND

Leaving Quebec City to come home is never easy. When we get on the elevator to go down and get in the car to come home, emotion overtakes me. Our "kids" absolutely love living there and we are so thankful that they are willing to obey God, but the parting is still hard. God is using them and doors are opening for them to share the gospel. Those things ease the pain of being away from them, to be sure. It seems like every time we leave, the tears flow for a few minutes, then we stop to get gas and while I'm sitting there, waiting for Tommy to pump gas, a peace just overwhelms me, dries the tears and sets me on the path for home.

Right now "home" is in Rhode Island, of course. We don't know where God will lead us next, but the ride is exciting and we are thankful that God is using our efforts as well.

The border crossing that we use when we go to Canada from Rhode Island is in Vermont. Typically the Vermont crossing is quiet and less busy than the New York crossing. However, due to summer vacation, coupled with it being a weekend, we encountered a 1 hour wait. When we arrived at the checkpoint, the agent informed us that it was our lucky day. We had been chosen by the computer for a random check. As if the one-hour delay was not enough, we spent another 40 minutes waiting for them to ask us some questions and then search our vehicle. No big deal, except it was already past our planned lunch stop. It's way easier to stop and eat on the American side, rather than the Canadian side where French is the language of choice. So we had delayed lunch and almost 2 hours later, we were on our way.

Things improved as we traveled through the beautiful Vermont mountains and then one of my favorite parts of the trip is the Franconia Notch in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The four-lane interstate narrows to 2 lanes for traffic to pass between 2 beautiful and massive mountains. It is absolutely beautiful!

To put things in perspective...we can still get in the car and drive, even though it may be a long trip. We don't have to board an airplane every time we want to see our "kids". I have recently been reminded that all missionaries don't have that luxury. I am thankful that our kids are only about 15 hours away.