I'm back...

Well, it's been a long time...too long, but it's been hard to write about what has happened over the last few months. While there have been a lot of changes over the last three months, the biggest are that I ended my engagement to Wayne, Joanna and Matt got married, and Mom passed away, about 6 weeks ago. Everything happened just within a couple of weeks' time, and I know it will be a process to adjust to life the way it is now.

I was blessed to be able to spend three weeks at home in Illinois around these events, and it was great to be with family and lean on them during the hard times, as well as enjoy their company and have some joyful times with them. It was nice to see some good friends who I hadn't seen in a while. Throughout the process of Mom's passing, what stood out to me most was the graciousness and kindness of friends and family and the peace we can have despite the deep sadness, due to our faith and the hope we have.

It was also good to get back to Caracas and return to a regular routine and the good friends I've made here. I've taken advantage of a couple of long weekends to travel with some of them, first to a nearby beach for a couple of nights, and more recently to Machu Picchu, in Peru. Both were fun and relaxing, and I've appreciate the chance to see new places not too far from home. I'm currently serving as the "Acting Chief of American Citizen Services" which is not only challenging and looks good on my EER (our annual employee evaluations), but has been a wonderful time to work with a smaller group of co-workers who I've gotten pretty close to. There will most likely be a new permanent chief within 2-3 months, but I'm enjoying this experience while it lasts.

I also recently started taking Jiu Jitsu classes from a co-worker who came to post not too long ago. That's been a new fun way to exercise while keeping it interesting. It's also cool to be learning a new skill that could be used as self defense.

I'll try to work back into writing more regularly. Thanks to all for your prayers and support throughout some challenging times lately.