Weekend in Dallas

 We were super excited that Aaron was able to attend the Bible Translation conference in Dallas last weekend!  The first thing we saw when we pulled into the International Linguistics Center was the Solomon Islands' flag flying.

 

 

God's perfect timing always leaves me amazed.  Friday night, that included a Missionary Kid (MK) game night for students in grades 7-12.  That's three of my kids!  So while Aaron was in his first professional development session, my big three were playing messy games with MKs like themselves, and Katherine and I were enjoying being in the apartment reading books, playing with George and Martha Washington paper dolls, and sending selfies to Aaron.

 

 

Saturday morning, Aaron headed out early for more fun and exciting meetings.  Really.  He loves this linguistic stuff, I love seeing him get so fired up as he sits in seminars and rubs shoulders with men and women from all over the world who are also working in linguistics.

 

The rest of us drove down to visit Edi and Brennen at the very cute coffee shop where Edi works.  Sarah got her first lesson on how to be a good barista.  (You can watch Edi make that very loud and amazingly delicious ice cream here.)  Those two are some of our favorite people!  And that's saying a lot since they survived living with us in the village last year.

 

 

Since Aaron was in meetings all day long, we just hopped to the next coffee shop:  White Rhino.  I got to talking and catching up with some sweet and encouraging ladies, but Olivia remembered to grab the phone and take a selfie with her buddy. 

 

When we pulled into the driveway of the apartment, we found a very cute chalk welcome message.  I was puzzled.  Who knew where we were staying and who would have taken the time and effort to let us know they were glad we were in Dallas?  I felt so loved, even if I didn't know who left the message.  I soon found out.  Aaron had informed me that a woman saw his nametag during the conference and said she was a bloggy friend.  He thought she was the secret "chalker", and he was right!  After we finished supper, we saw her outside.  She and her sweet family lived two doors down!  I finally got to meet Barbara - what a thoughtful lady who is serving the Lord in all kinds of ways.

 

Sunday morning, we attended Hillcrest Baptist Church again.  So nice to walk in and see lots of familiar faces and feel like we were home.  And to sit next to my friend Margaret in Sunday School, too!

 

And after church, Barbara and some of her sweet family joined us for lunch.  Both my soul and my tummy were full when they went home!
 

 

Team SITAG had almost as many people in Dallas as there were in Honiara this weekend.  We hung out together Sunday afternoon at the precious Gebauer household.  Lots of catching up, football, kids noise, and checking fantasy football scores throughout the afternoon.  Just the kind of downtime we all needed in the midst of the busy conference schedule.

 

 

And tonight, while I was sitting in on the kids' choir rehearsal, Aaron sent me this picture from Dallas: past and present representatives of the Solomon Islands at the closing banquet.  How I love the people in this photo!  God has drawn our hearts and our paths together.  We're looking forward to getting Aaron home tomorrow and having a few days at home together with a little bit of "normal", but how grateful we are to have this weekend in Dallas with so many people we love.