home sweet home

I suppose if you don't have Facebook, you don't know that we made it back safely...and even before our arrival time on our plane tickets (like that ever happens!) We are very much enjoying being back in the States...Jon has hit the ground running, and I have only gone through mild culture shock (with fast internet, washing machines, trying to figure out my cell phone again...and people being really rude at stores...maybe they were in Rwanda, but I couldn't understand what they were saying...)

We are spending Christmas in Texas and loving time with my family. It has been such a blessing not to need my computer to communicate with them (thus why I have been slacking on blog posting :)) We move into our new home Jan. 2nd. I was worried about not having any furniture (due to our vagabond lifestyle) but God has really already taken care of it all...Friendly Chapel, a Nazarene church in Little Rock, Arkansas, got in several couch donations and are gifting us a HUGE sectional for our living room...my grandparents have given us several pieces, as well as our parents...now all we need is a washer and dryer...He always provides.

We are still trusting that He has the perfect job waiting for me at our new home...we will see about His timing, but being unemployed for the first time in what seems like my entire life could be a major stress...your prayers are always appreciated :)

We hope that you are enjoying this Christmastime with family and friends, and are finding time everyday to honor Christ and meditate on the wonder of the Christmas story. Also, we hope you enjoy looking back on this year of your life and recognize all that our Savior has done to take care of your family and you...and if you think of someone who has really been used by God in your life this year, won't you send them a note thanking God and them?

Merry Christmas,
The Newlin Weds

we're coming home

Tonight at 9 pm (1 pm for all your CST people), we will be boarding our first flight home. We are due to land in the States via New Jersey tomorrow afternoon...so if you would pray that the weather does not interfere with our landing and taking off at 3 pm (EST), that would be awesome!

We are due to land in Houston at 6:00 pm (CST) on Wednesday night, where we will meet my mom, sister, grandparents + aunt for our first meal in the USA...any guesses where we will go???

If I tell you that I have missed salad more than anything...would that give you a clue???

Then it is off to Nacogdoches, where we will spend 2 weeks with family, friends and food :) Then we will go to Arkansas to spend time with the rest of the Newlins until January 2nd...when we will move into our NEW HOME in Arkansas...never a dull moment for The Newlin Weds, for sure :)

See you soon!

Much love,
Emily Elizabeth

tomorrow, tomorrow...

day

I cannot believe we begin our journey home tomorrow night...I am not very good at waiting...and I really thought this day would never come...but alas, here it is! Christmas celebrations and wonderful family time are only three plane rides and a night's sleep away...crazy!

I saved the best for last...what we will miss the very most about Rwanda are our new friends...Azizi Life co-workers and other volunteers that we have crossed paths with during our time here. We have had many laughs and joyful moments, as well as shared in despair and homesickness...God truly blessed our 4 months with quality people with beautiful souls to share our time with.

I hope to keep in touch with everyone of them...and thanks to Facebook, I think it will be possible!

Much love,
Emily Elizabeth

dos

 days

We will miss seeing people carry everything from an electric keyboard to a bed frame on their heads. I am reading The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (the fictional story of a missionary family in the Congo in the 1960s? and this quote describes this wonder perfectly...

"The usual bypasser is a woman sauntering slowly down the road with bundles upon bundles balanced on her head. These women are pillars of wonder, defying gravity while wearing the ho-hum aspect of perfect tedium. They can sit, stand, talk, shake a stick at a drunk man, reach around their backs to fetch forth a baby to nurse, all without dropping their piled-high bundles upon bundles. They are like ballet dancers entirely unaware they are on stage. I cannot take my eyes from them."

Although the large, unusual objects are mesmerizing...I think I enjoy seeing a woman carrying her own purse on her head, rather than on her shoulder, the most

I almost didn't post today...we had a fun night that caused me to forget to countdown! Friends, Dutch Blitz, homemade pizza and brownies will do just that.

Much love,

Emily Elizabeth

just a few more...

days

until we start our journey home

We will miss Rwanda's mild weather and falling asleep to rain hitting the tin roof. Before we came to Rwanda, people told us to get ready for unbearable heat with no relief. Luckily, Africa is a pretty big place...and we got to spend 4 months in its paradise.


Much love,
Emily Elizabeth

4 days to 4 months

days

We will miss walking 70 yards to the corner shop complete with bottled coke, toothbrushes, fresh fruit and veggies, cooking spices, bread, tea and other items Rwandans would consider a staple. Not only did we not have the choice to hop into our car to run to the store...we didn't need to! We could just grab our shoes and be there in two minutes (and be greeted by friendly faces along the way)

I am almost finished wrapping up my work with Azizi Life. I have set up the website page for the new Azizi Life Advocate Home Party project and am almost done with the Advocate guide! Super exciting! If you check out the website and are interested, the Advocate role will be officially open for your participation in January...so hang in there! If you want more information, in the mean time, email me!

And I have found time to help Geri with her cultural tourism project...I created the logo below.

I also helped set up the Azizi Life Experiences web page.

Today, I took some time to look back at all the projects that I have completed while here in Rwanda (with Azizi Life AND school)...God has really helped a girl out...that is the only way to explain the productivity over the last 4 months!

I wonder what all will happen in the next 4 months...

Much love,
Emily Elizabeth


Check out our 6 Days + 5 Days post, too!

times a ticking...

days

We will miss the beautiful views...from every window...and every hill...siiiiiiiggghhhhhhh 

Luckily, we are moving to the 2nd most hilly place I know of...Arkansas! But there are so many trees, you don't get a panoramic view at every corner like you do in Rwanda.

Much love,
Emily Elizabeth

less than a week...

days

We cannot believe that we are under a week, and at the same time, we are wishing the time would go by faster (talk about emotional roller coaster!)

So, to help our mindset, Jon and I have decided to list one thing each day that we are still here that we are sure to miss when we are gone. So for today...

We will miss the children...especially those who cannot contain themselves and wave excitedly when we walk past...and the ones that scream "Thank You Very Much!" because I am sure this is 1.) The newest phrase they have learned in English or 2.) All they can remember from their English lesson...either way, it fills my heart with delight. 

This weekend we will start packing and share some of our sweets with our friend Mariana (and maybe even paint our nails :)) We are taking it easy...does that make us boring? Maybe it does...but I think I am too brain dead to do anything else...grad school work is done...and what do I have to show for it? :)

Much love,
Emily Elizabeth

We Got Mail! (Vol. 8)

Several things I appreciate in this picture...my husband...this care package in a Ziploc box...and the absence of facial hair.

I'm not going to say that "the best" was saved for last...but it is definitely the sweetest!

Just when you think you can't take it anymore...a sweet gift from God comes by way of the post...with two boxes of brownie mix & Crystal Light!

Our friends Tyler + Roxie (See, I told you it would make it, Roxie :)) sent us a birthday treat box full of goodies for Jon's b-day. True to form, it was late...I suspect because I was expecting it. My favorite part is the two mints they included from their baby shower (Roxie is due in January!).

Our last 10 days will be filled with sweet treats to hold us over...yipee!

Much love,
Emily Elizabeth

11 days

I cannot believe we will be leaving in 11 days! This weekend I plan to finish all of my school work...so I can't believe I will be done with my Master's THIS WEEKEND!

I am still very busy with work at Azizi Life...wrapping projects up, preparing how-to guides for my departure...and trying not to be sad. To be truthful, I am such a ball of mixed emotions. I want to be home with my family so badly...I want to be with our church in Wickes already...but I also want to cherish each moment I have left here in Rwanda...

And watching Christmas movies makes it worse...

I also think Jon and I have been experiencing random culture shock moments that make us feel like we just want to explode...no hot water....grasshoppers...no Taco Bell...it's the little things really...it makes me feel really silly to be upset about it all...

But in all of this, I have to say that God has delivered. We have had calming peace at just the right moments, focus and motivation to not feel stressed about deadlines, and glimpses of home right here, were we are.

God is good. God is gracious. God is loving.

Much love,
Emily Elizabeth

it's times like these that I pull out the Jon Foreman