Ahhh...Home.

Dear Family and Friends,

I thought about starting this entry with one of those cheesy wedding announcements. Something like, “The bride, resplendent in white, was preceded down the aisle by her seven gorgeous bridesmaids, each uniquely draped with an exquisite pashmina that perfectly reflected the cascade of falling leaves on that faultless October day.” You know, one of those gushy, overly sentimental pieces that admires every detail of a wedding from the gift bags filled with popcorn and chocolate covered almonds to the amazing rehearsal supper complete with an incredible video and delicious Aspen tea.

The fact is, Heidi and Joe’s special weekend was one of the best times I’ve ever had at a wedding or otherwise. It would be a perfectly acceptable event for me to gush over. For starters, I was home. I could stop right there and be happy, but no, there was more. The weather was perfect – crisp, sunny, with the leaves changing in the background. The Knoblochs did a truly magnificent job of making everyone feel welcome and loved in their home, even though we descended like a plague of locusts to fit dresses, try on shoes, take pictures, eat them out of house and home, and generally overrun the camp.

Let me start at the beginning: I flew home on Tuesday, Oct. 14. I started my travels before dawn and arrived home at 11:45 PM. Yes, you can get home in one day, but it’s a l-o-n-g day. After four planes in four different airports, I was a little fussy. But, as soon as I saw my sisters and parents at FWA, I was rejuvenated in mind and spirit. (It took eight hours of sleep and McDonald’s to rejuvenate my body.) We left for Morton on Friday and attended Heidi’s personal shower on Friday night. It was a great time to meet all of Heidi’s friends from college, work, church, and the YG. Heidi’s sisters did a fantastic job of planning her shower and making everyone laugh with their game, “How well do you know Heidi?”

Saturday, we spent the morning relaxing by the pool with the kids and the afternoon trying on our dresses and shoes at the Knobloch house. It was fun to finally see all the Knobloch siblings and spouses together with their children. We all arrived at the Morton church for the wedding rehearsal around four. It went very smoothly and Cheryl kindly took pictures for us as we practiced. The rehearsal supper was held at a tearoom outside of Morton. It was just beautiful. The Knoblochs created a truly amazing video of Joe and Heidi, Dr. Omar Gava shared a Spirit-filled testimony, Marie Lucie talked of Heidi’s dedication to missions, and Ed Schwartz spoke about Joe’s heart.

Sunday morning dawned clear and sunny. It was literally the perfect fall day, like the kind you see on the front of every college brochure as the cute co-eds pose in their new sweatshirts with the college’s name prominently displayed on the front. Anyway, a perfect day. We took pictures in the morning and then hurried to the church for the wedding service. It was an uplifting message about agape love.

The reception was wonderful! I spent most of my time chatting with family and friends and meeting new people connected to Joe and Heidi. After we sent them off to their honeymoon via bubbles and cheers, we left to head back to Bluffton. On the way home, Mom, Dad, and I hit a deer on 69 going 70 mph. It’s not only a miracle that nobody was hurt, but the car wasn’t even damaged that badly. We drove it right home, although we had a few interesting souvenirs left over from the collision. It took two automatic car washes and a diligent car wash attendant to remove all the...remains.

Monday and Tuesday, I enjoyed my time with family and friends. Tuesday night, Molly and I took Sophie to the Ft. Wayne Zoo Halloween. She went as a purple butterfly. I mean really, could there be anyone cuter? Perhaps I’m a little biased, but she is such a pumpkin!! Just check out the pictures. Wednesday, we made a quick run to the BDC to drop off some additional supplies for my next few months in Haiti. I left Wednesday afternoon, stayed in Ft. Lauderdale that night, and made it into Cayes by two on Thursday where I continued my constant battle against homesickness.

Sheila, Christophe, and all the Reinhards left with the first work team of the season early on Saturday, so I’ve been enjoying my solitude. Today, I stayed home from church to welcome a family to the Guesthouse since Sheila was unavailable. Beth Newton and I listened to the Bluffton Country service over the phone. After the second service, I made chocolate chip cookies, went swimming at the Wray’s house, and had a wonderful discussion with another missionary woman until after dark. When I finally got home, I made myself some cheesy chicken and macaroni. (Leah, you can stop reading here. I know you have a weak stomach. Amber, don’t let this deter you. You’ll get use to it very quickly.)

OK. So, I’m used to bugs by now. In fact, I have a least four different types crawling on me as I type. There are beetles reading every word I write because they are sitting on my monitor. It’s pointless to shoo them away; then, they just fly around and whack into my face which is even more annoying than obscuring my monitor. I have to double sift my flour - first, to remove all the live bugs crawling around in it, and then to remove all their little dead carcasses and eggs. It’s OK. You just adapt.

Anyway, I finished making my mac and cheese and proceeded to eat a large plate full while working on my photos for this week’s blog. I wasn’t paying too much attention to my food. My mistake. I decided I wasn’t quite full yet, so I went back for another helping. I was just about to shovel a new fork load into my mouth when I noticed something odd about a noodle and took a closer look. Ladies and gentlemen...worms. That’s right. Worms. Little white, worms. Of course, they were dead seeing as how I had boiled them for 4-6 minutes until tender. But I mean, gross! Even being accustomed to bugs, this just about made me puke.

You know, they say that a first year missionary will throw out something with bugs in it. A second year missionary will remove the bugs and eat it, and a third year missionary says, “Extra protein.” I’m not quite there, yet. Tillie, Gutwein’s dog, had a special cheesy treat tonight...with extra protein.

Love you all! Thanks for the prayers.

Abby

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