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Home
on Leave
What a joy to be back on U.S. soil! I left Djibouti, Africa shortly after midnight, Sunday the fifth of January. Earlier that day (Sunday) I had preached my last service at the 11:00 am Evangelical service and later at the 8:00 pm Praise & Worship service. The rest of the day was spent making sure I had everything packed, and that I had checked out everywhere necessary in order to depart. By the time I climbed aboard the Air France jet to begin my journey home, I was ready for a good rest. The Lord knew this, so while I was checking in at the Djibouti airport, the ticket agent told me my seat was being upgraded to Business Class. Praise the Lord! If you haven't traveled anything but Coach, Business Class is in-between Coach and First Class. The seats are like lounge chairs with elevated footrests, and lots of extra service. I was only interested in sleeping, so once we were airborne we were served a meal. Afterward I slipped on my blue eye covers, plugged in the earphones to some classical music and promptly fell asleep. I awoke several hours later when we were about an hour outside of Paris. I had a seven-hour layover in Paris, this time choosing to remain at the airport. The weather was cold and rainy, quite the opposite of what I had experienced six months earlier on my way to Djibouti. Plus, I had no clothing suitable for cold weather. I always carry several books with me so I sat contentedly reading, waiting for my continuing flight to Los Angeles. We took off an hour late, arriving at LAX at 5:15 p.m. Monday, January 5. I still had to pass through customs, with the long lines, and several planes arriving all at the same time. About 6 p.m. I finally walked through the gate to the receiving area. My eye immediately caught sight of a hand-held sign in red, white and blue that said, "Welcome home, Dad!" Jenny, my youngest, and her friend, Kim held the sign. Kim is like a daughter to me. My wife, Isaura, had moved down the line to where I would be exiting. She heard the girls shout to her that I was coming. Our eyes met at that moment, and it was wonderful! Six months is a long time to be away from those you love the most. After much hugging and kissing we loaded my bags into the car and drove
to Camp Pendleton so I could check back in. Since it was already late
in the evening, we had dinner at Mimi's Restaurant (one of my favorites)
in Oceanside before checking in to the Bachelor Officer Quarters (BOQ)
for the night. I spent the next two days doing all the necessary paperwork
that goes along with completing an assignment such as this. I was dead to the world later that morning when the phone rang at 7:30 a.m It was my sister, Joy, calling from her home in Fresno to welcome me home. When I heard the phone ring, I remember rolling over in the direction of the sound coming from my nightstand. Only my brain did not immediately register where I was. You see, my wife bought a brand-new bedroom set last summer that I'm not yet familiar with (This is the first new bedroom set we've ever had. Only took twenty-seven years!). Even after hearing Joy's voice my gears were grinding, still trying to figure out where I was! After traveling through eleven time zones, your brain gets a bit addled. At noon I went by to pick up Laura, my oldest, for lunch. She works at Heritage Ford in Modesto, and could not get time away to come meet me in Los Angeles. So we enjoyed some time together over a nice Mexican lunch. I then stopped by the Ripon Free Methodist Church to say hi to my secretary, Gayle, and visit with our youth minister, Paul Koval, now serving as interim senior pastor. No sooner had I parked my Volvo P1800 in front of the church than Russ, from REO Espresso, came across the street to welcome me home. I also stopped in at the Ripon Record to see editor Joe Franscella and thank him for running my weekly Roots on Deck (ROD) articles. Decided to treat myself to a chocolate milkshake at REO's, something I've been waiting to do for a long time. Chocolate is one of the major food groups, you know.
I had a wonderful time renewing acquaintances at the Liberty concert at Immanuel Church Friday night. My sister, Joy, drove up from Fresno Saturday morning in time for my waffle breakfast. She stayed through Sunday. I was slated to preach in both morning services and had a fabulous time greeting and hugging all the wonderful folks from my church. Following the eleven o'clock service, about a dozen members of the Marine Corps Club of Stockton, of which I'm a member, presented me with a most beautiful statue. It shows a Marine (or soldier) in camouflaged uniform kneeling down with his hand on a wall. The statement on the wall says, "Honoring All Who Sacrificed for Our Freedom." Then below it said, John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." It was a wonderful gift! Sunday night after our prayer service, there was a dessert social in my honor that included a visit from Santa bringing me a large bag of Starbucks coffee beans. Thanks, Red! My wife and I were also presented with a very nice gift from the congregation, plus individual gifts of love from a number of our friends. All in all, it's just plain good to be back home in Ripon. I return to duty in early February, but in the meantime, I'm just kicking back! |
