Our journey with Jesus.

It felt like we would never get to say this, but this is our last day!! We officially completed work for the day. This morning was our last breakfast, today was our last lunch, tonight will be our last supper, ( the long-term group is going for pIZZA!! with a little convincing....) and tonight will be our last night in our camper! (for a few months, anyways..) We have made some forever-friends this year, and some we probably won't ever see again here on earth. We have met what feels like thousands of new faces, travelled thousands of miles, and made millions of new memories this year. We have learned so much, and seen things I never thought I'd see. I cannot even tell you how surreal this all feels--that this next trip home will be our last for awhile. I don't think things will feel "normal" (whatever that means) until we officially live in our own house this coming summer. Thinking of looking for jobs seems....very odd. I don't even know how to think about that right now. When we first made the decision to serve this year, one thing that helped us decide was that we asked ourselves, "Will we regret it if we do it?" Well, no. "Will we regret it if we don't do it?" Well, yes. There we have it. That was our answer after a long battle. Now that we have completed our year, do we regret it? Absolutely not. Somebody just today made the comment of not being paid for this work. That's the funny thing. We are. Not by money, but by Jesus. Maybe not now, but the Lord says we will be rewarded for what we do. Something money will never buy. We have had many opportunities to sit and visit on the job site, with the homeowners we're building for. Their stories of what they have been through and are still going through, are indescribable. Usually you hear those things through the grape vine, but hearing them first hand as you look into their eyes and see the pain they have been through. The most true thankfulness you have ever seen, for our time taken for them. The overwhelming sense they receive from watching their house go up, day by day. We had a house dedication yesterday, and during that, it just came to me. Another reason we were to sell our house, is so that we could have something in common with these people we're working for. No, we didn't lose it to a hurricane, fire or tornado. But we know the feeling of feeling "homeless" in a sense. I believe God wanted us to have the same hope that we're bringing to people, in us having hope that one day we will too, have a home again. I could kind of relate to the homeowner, as I imagined Wes and I having the same feeling of exitement and disbelief, staring at your new home. I know that it is so different, but also so similar. I guess this may be our last post on this blog. Weird. We are SO excited to be home for Christmas. When we get home, I guess we'll have to find jobs again in the near future. We will be house sitting for someone for 3 months - Jan, Feb & March - then moving back into our camper until we can move into our new home (where Wes grew up) hopefully sometime during the summer. We just want to once again, say a HUGE thank you to everybody. For all of the financial support we received, which has helped us immensely! For all of the prayer support that we couldn't have done without. Just when you think you actually cannot go any longer, we were carried through it. For the cards, letters, emails, comments, pictures and candy, (you would be surprised at how big of a boost it is when you just receive a simple email or a letter in the mail after a long hard days of work...and they always seem to come at the perfect time!) And to all of you who have cared about us as you have come along on our journey with Jesus. Thank you.