6978 Miles – A Big Trip – Catching Up

We arrived home in April from Malawi and life hasn’t slowed down a bit! We had planned to make a big trip to Washington state to get our house ready to go on the market. Before we could leave for Washington we had a couple of Malawi presentations to do. We also had to celebrate a few milestones.

Esther our last born child turned 18 years old! How could that be? On the same day, our church celebrated the 2021 graduates. Not only is Esther graduating but our firstborn granddaughter is also graduating. We had a wonderful day at church together. My mom came down for the evening banquet and celebration given in the kid’s honor. The girls were showered with cards, gifts, hugs, and well wishes. It was a beautiful day for all. I feel such gratitude to those who have invested in our church kids, especially mine!

Graduation Banquet
Family!
A. Redding
E. Redding

On Monday morning James and I headed for Washington state. We arrived in Tacoma just in time to meet Sarah and Eowyn for Wednesday night Bible study. It was nice to see them and our Lakeview church family!

Our Trip Begins

James and I spent 5 weeks painting, cleaning, mowing, etc. getting our house ready to market. What a job! I treasured the time I got to see my kids and old friends while there. We visited our friends in Aberdeen, Tacoma, Seattle, and a couple in Everett! Treasured days!

A few opportunities allowed me to share about our work in Malawi! That is always close to my heart. I am thrilled to have friends who love God and have been such an encouragement to us through the years and continue to be even now! The response to our message was so encouraging.

It was so nice to see an old friend I hadn’t seen in almost 30 years. She was part of a Bible study group and became a Christian during this time. We were young moms last time I saw her and now we are grandmas! We talked for hours and took a nice walk around the park and enjoyed a salad lunch together.

Finally, James and I got our house on the market and we were ready for the return trip home. I had so much fun making the trip to Washington and back with James. We talked, studied, worked hard, listened to podcasts, and so much more.

We arrived home with a day to rest up before my family reunion with my cousins, in Alabama at Jasper City Park. It was so nice to see everyone after our two-year break. We had lost a few family members but we treasured the day together. My mom and her brother are the only surviving siblings of 10. It is so sad to lose this generation.

The Cousins
Cousins!

After a nice day with lots of fun and laughter, rain, and a leaking shelter, we gave our last hugs goodbye and I headed to East Tennessee to meet my husband. Lawrence was preaching the next morning at Byrdstown, Tennessee.

Red Hill Church of Christ

We enjoyed a nice morning with the church family and lunch with a sweet couple from church. Then we headed home.

A lot of miles……………………