Yesterday we returned to Odessa. I don't know if this place will ever really feel like home, but it's getting better. The fear factor of approaching something completely unkown & foreign has somewhat dissipated. Getting snapped at by a rather large Russian woman at the airport in Warsaw was a helpful wake-up call to readjust my expectations to where I was going. After that reminder, things that used to bother us didn't matter quite as much. Esther was very tired and cranky but that worked to our advantage as we were ushered to the front of every inspection line. I was initially upset that our taxi driver over-charged us, but then I was able to have a brief conversation with him about why we are here. We were able to laugh at the fact that our elevator was smeared with dog poop and never seems to work when we have luggage (although Esther wasn't laughing as she had by then wet through her clothes and had to stay outside with Sarah and the bags while I took trips carting them up 5 flights of stairs).
These are very minor inconveniences, but responding to them with an uncomplaining spirit is a critical aspect of living here (or anywhere for that matter). We need to grow in this area and be at peace with the daily realities of life where God has called us. The interaction and prayer we have received from many of you over this last month helped us toward this goal, and it made the process of returning "home" more pleasant than we anticipated.
