It's official!

Or at least the one way ticket is non-refundable....
I'll be leaving for Venezuela on Tuesday evening and getting to Merida on Wednesday morning. It will be a big day for me physically: 18 hours of travel. Bring it on. I am ready for the next challenge and I am ready to see some familiar and dearly loved faces at the Merida airport. That's enough to get me through any airport weariness or patience-wearing situation. And hopefully I won't get into too much trouble without Bryon always asking me where my passport is...sheesh! The man is relentless. Although it's not entirely unwarranted...one little incident and now I have a reputation.
I have two days left here in Kansas. My mom took some time off from work, so we'll get to have some good, quality time together before I leave. I am excited about that time and blessed to have it, too.

Let's hear it for the Fast Shoes

Sometimes it really feels like this recovery process is slower than slow. I had hoped to be back in Venezuela by now, but I'm not. And I'll be honest and say that the slowness of all this jazz has frequently been discouraging. BUT then there are days like today when I am able to celebrate small victories. I walked over a mile and a half this afternoon AND even took a handful of running steps! My leg muscle is down to almost nothing these days, so I'm sure I will feel the consequences of my actions tomorrow, but I'll gladly take them. Lately I've been feeling like a prisoner in my own body and today's micro-adventure gave me a sweet, sweet feeling of freedom that I really needed.
Still no word on when the doctor will let me go back. I'm praying for soon, but trusting that the doctor will help us make the wisest decision.

Milestones and setbacks

When my sisters were little they had a pair of shoes for everything. There were shiny shoes they'd pull out of the closet just for dancing, school shoes, rubber-soled shoes for running, the next pair of hand-me-downs shoes they were waiting to grow into.... My youngest sister, Tracy, even had a special pair she called her "jumping shoes."
I 've never really vocalized it, but I've always thought of my latest pair of running shoes (which haven't seen much action lately) as my fast shoes. Look at these bad boys with their metallic blue trim and tell me I don't run like the wind when I wear them. Okay, I'll admit it, I don't do much of anything like the wind....maybe more like a lazy summer breeze?
Today I took the fast shoes out for some adventure: instead of twice around the block, we ended up going over a mile! It felt great and I just kept smiling and smiling. Praise the Lord for continued improvement!
While I am celebrating today's achievement, I'm also acknowledging that it's been a bit of a rough week with some disappointments and setbacks. Most notably, my doctor asked me to delay my return ticket to Venezuela by at least 2 more weeks. He'd like to see me be stronger before I jump back into things. (He'd let me if a had a pair of jumping shoes like Tracy, but since I don't...nuts!) It's the wise decision, but it hit me hard. My heart is homesick for my team and students in Venezuela and at first the 2 week delay felt enormous. I'm still not excited about it, but there's really nothing I can do at this point other than make the best of things and continue to rest in the Lord's care.