Monday, February 05, 2007

Matt came to visit

Yeah, and we sent him back kind of broke. We had a great time with him here. Matt got to catch up on some of his friends and we got a glimpse of his life at Wheaton. Everything was going along great until we went to our mission's Winter Family Conference. After playing a game with the youth, he found a knot on the back of his wrist that was pretty sore. That discovery turned into a trip to the hospital for x-rays and a cast. After a few hours in one cast, he decided he needed to get a matching set, since his other wrist was hurting so badly.
After the trips to the hospital were done, it was pretty hard to think about sending him back to the States like that. He was brave and stepped right into what God was calling him to do. I was proud to have him as family.
Matt left before the conference was over, so I drove him back to Budapest the night before his plane took off. It was wonderful to have some time to be with him and just talk about stuff. We got up early the next morning to head to the airport. On the way there, he realized that he had left his wallet in the hotel room with Tim. Not a good thing for a Dad to hear when he is putting his son on an international flight with two broken wrists. The guy in front of us in line had a problem with his ticket, so that stretched things out a bit longer than I wanted, but I kept up a good face. So, with $100 and his passport in his pocket I sent him through security. I made it to the car before I started to cry. A breakfast meeting was waiting on me at the conference, so I had to hurry back. It's a good thing or I might not have returned. I cried the whole way back to the conference (don't imagine that it was a little trickle at the corner of my eye). I prayed the whole way back as well. I couldn’t figure out why it had such an effect on me this time and not when he first went. I guess it's just another step in turning our firstborn loose on the world for God's glory. I can see that God has been making him ready for it, and I’m proud of the man he is becoming. But it’s still hard for a Dad to do.

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