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We’ve been home for a little over a month now, and I’ve been procrastinating for long enough on a final update. It’s hard to even know where to start with summarizing such a big trip, so I figure I’ll at least give my (Andrew’s) answers to the most frequently asked questions since our return.

Mark your calendars! If you live in Chicagoland, please come out and join us for an evening of trip pictures, stories, and dessert. We’ll be dusting off the slide projector and gathering at Chicago West Bible Church (5916 W Lake St, Chicago) from 6:30-8:00PM on Thursday March 13th. Join us!

How does it feel to be home? How are the kids adjusting?

It feels great! We spent the last few weeks of the year in California with our families which was a nice way to transition back to “normal life” in Chicago. We got to experience time travel, taking off at 3PM in Auckland and landing at 7AM the same day in LA. Because of the 22 hour time difference, the jet lag wasn’t all that bad. Day was still day, and night was still night.

Coming home was a little surreal - seeing our house again, sleeping in our beds, cooking in our kitchen - after being away for 5 months. But really it all felt pretty natural and seamless. The kids jumped right back into school with what I might dare call excitement, and I think Hannah and I have a newfound appreciation for simple things - neighbors, church, staying still, seeing familiar faces. Hannah said “It’s just nice to see someone you recognize, and who recognizes you, after so many weeks of being anonymous”.

Which was your favorite place to visit?

The family was more or less unanimous on Japan 🇯🇵 and Uganda 🇺🇬. Japan was fascinating - a wonderful mix of culture and tradition, history, food, public transportation, and kid-friendly activities. We especially enjoyed our time in Kyoto and would love to spend more time exploring the rest of the country should we ever get the opportunity.

Uganda is a special place to us for a variety of reasons, but the people are really what made it special for us on this trip. I’ve said it before, but we were met with a warmth and energy that is inspiring to me even now. I want to bring more of Uganda to my block and neighborhood - welcoming, vibrant hospitality with a true desire to connect and do life together. Toss in plentiful natural beauty, incredibly fresh food, and lions and hippos, and there’s a lot to love.

Would you do it again? What would you do differently?

Maybe, but not anytime soon, and we’d change up some things. It was an amazing experience and we are so thankful to have been able to do it, but it was also hard in unique ways that we’re still processing (see previous posts!). In reality it was like planning 10 trips-of-a-lifetime at once, and at a certain point it’s hard to do that really well. There were times during the trip where we would wake up and say “Oh, we’re going to Egypt in a couple of days, we should probably start figuring out what we’re doing there and prep the kids!”. Sometimes that’s not the worst thing to do - show up and see what you see - but there is likely a proper balance in there somewhere.

Towards the end of the trip I started thinking about South America and how it would be neat to learn/re-learn Spanish and spend longer (a month+) in each place. I think we would also spend more time off the beaten path (less cities) and trying to live with locals in some way, like a homestay or as a gaucho herding cattle in Argentina 🤠. In summary, yes, we might try to do it again someday should we get the opportunity, but we’d slow down and spend more time in each place, stress less about homeschooling, spend less time in big cities, and shorten the overall length of the journey.

How is God at work in the global church?

We made an intentional effort to visit churches during our time abroad. In all cases, we were met with open arms and felt energized by the chance to participate in the global church, singing familiar hymns in foreign languages, and hearing stories of God’s power around the world. There were places where it felt like God was clearly moving and the church was growing (Uganda), and others where it was harder to spot (Japan, New Zealand, Europe). This generally tracks to the research - a shrinking number of Christians in Europe, with the majority of growth coming in Asia and especially Africa. It was powerful to get a taste of “every nation, tribe, and tongue” worshiping Jesus.

So, what’s next?

Hannah and I are starting a community-focused coffee shop called New Sound Cafe in our neighborhood of Austin! A couple of years ago we purchased an old, abandoned Gospel record shop on Lake Street, two blocks from our home. It’s nothing more than an empty shell right now (no water, gas, electric), so there’s a lot of work to do, but we’re hoping to be able to open up this Fall. We both like coffee, but are far from coffee snobs, and ultimately see it as the vehicle for offering a safe, welcoming space in the community with intentional partnerships and programming throughout the week (think tutoring, literacy, entrepreneurship, music, art, etc). If you have ideas or connections, we’d love to hear them!

This chapter of world-wide travel has come to an end, and a new, local, community-focused chapter is just getting started. Feel free to unsubscribe, but our intention is to write monthly updates recounting the inevitable ups and downs as this new venture takes shape. Writing has been a helpful way for us to process and remember, and we think there is value in sharing our journey with others. Thanks for reading!