Adjusting to Being Home

     We have now been back in Oregon for almost two weeks.  There have been a lot of adjustments since returning and acclimating ourselves back to life in the USA.  I found it quite humerous the first time we went grocery shopping.  Here's an example:  oranges are forty-nine cents a pound.  Is that a good deal?  Is it cheap, expensive, or what?  Okay, let's see...forty-nine cents is how much in pesos?  That's 4.08 pesos, but it is per pound.  We've been buying fruits and vegetables by the kilo for the last 15 months and a kilo is 2.2 pounds.  So, it's really like we're paying 8.976 per kilo.  We were paying about 9 pesos per kilo so, yes, it's a good deal.  Okay, now on to the next fruit or vegetable.  This could take all day. 
     We have so enjoyed reconnecting with friends and family.  Sunday we went to a small group at a friend's house.  We never joined a small group while we were here before but we are considering it now.  We had such a great time.  There is even one women there that is fluent in Spanish so when everyone was introducing themselves, she introduced herself and told a little about herself all in Spanish.  It was really neat.  For right now, we will continue to attend.
     We continue to look at all our options for housing for the long term.  Currently, we are living in our former house with Jim's mom.  She had moved in here while we were gone and we have her house rented out.  Please pray as we make choices in what to do.
     We continue to try to practice our Spanish but it is interesting that the Spanish speakers look at us little weird when we try to strike up a conversation in Spanish.  Perhaps they are not used to people taking an interest in their language who are not Hispanic.  We'll continue to keep working on it though.
     Last Wednesday night we went to our first Mission Leadership Team (MLT) meeting at our church.  We were on the MLT prior to moving to Mexico and we will continue to be a part of the team now that we have returned.  We care for our long term missionaries and after 14-1/2 months on the field, we have a new perspective in what that takes.  We so appreciate the care that the team took with us while we were out on the field.
     Erin went to church camp last Friday and returned today.  She said she had a wonderful time and was very jazzed when we picked her up.  It was a great time to reconnect with friend but it was a great spiritual time for her also.
     We thank you for your continued prayers as we continue to adjust to life here.  When we know more about work for Jim, we will update you.  For now, we continue to look for God's direction in everything.