Where In the World are the Irwins??

Wow!  It's been a LONG time!  We haven't done much since we last wrote....only sold almost all of our possessions, including furniture, car etc. said goodbye to friends, coworkers and church family and moved to another country!  Then, we had to make a quick stop at MAF's headquarters in Idaho to make sure we are sane etc.  For all of you who were wondering the answer to that question...we are either good at fooling people or we really are sane!  Now when people call us crazy, we can say "no we're not, MAF had us tested".

The last few weeks in Ecuador are really a blur.  I don't even know how many people stopped by to say goodbye or invited us over for a last supper together.   We really felt emotionally raw by the time Saturday the 25th of June came and it was time to get into the van to head to Quito.  Several close friends came by that morning for a final goodbye.  It was the hardest thing to see our kids say good bye to their friends.  Finally we prayed and hugged everyone a last time and tried to keep the tears in, but failed miserably.  Looking back and seeing everyone waving was a heartfelt moment and one we won't forget.  

It was good to stop at MAF headquarters first on our trip home, as there are so many missionaries there that can relate to how we are currently feeling in this transition.  We pretty much cried through most of our interviews.  Sometimes we didn't even know what was going to turn on the waterworks. We would be halfway through a thought or sentence and the tears would just come.  We new it would be hard to leave Ecuador...we just didn't know how hard.   We were assured that our emotions were normal after spending so many years away, but it's still tough. 

So, for now we are in Ohio beginning our normal 6 month furlough.  We will be busy getting accustomed to life in the U.S. and helping the kids ease into public school.  Our goal will be to reconnect with family, churches and supporters and to fill them in as to what the future holds for us.