A recap of our trip to the states:

Day 1:

Last Wednesday we took a taxi to the Dublin airport.

We spent time rolling our clothes, knowing that whatever we brought over had to fit in a car with us as we drove from Long Island to Philly, to MD, to western NY and back to Long Island. We were all so proud of our packing job.  For six people we had five carry-ons & three checked bags. And then the first thing the taxi driver says…”wow, you sure have a lot of luggage.”

Thanks.

We arrive at the airport at 9:30 for an 11:20 flight. At 9:45 while we are clearing the first security person, they announce that it is the final call to check bags for our flight.

We make it, however, clear the next level of security & head to customs. We get there at 10:25 and see that our flight has started boarding. (Don’t they generally board 30 minutes prior to the flight time? I thought that was how it worked.)

We clear customs and get to the next security checkpoint (if you didn’t know this when leaving Dublin, you clear US customs at the Dublin Airport.)

As I grab my stuff from the belt, I notice that our flight is now saying “final boarding call.” Liz and the girls have still not clear security. I run down to our gate…furthest one, of course, thinking I can delay them…but no need as we all get there on time.

We land in JFK, take the LIRR to Suffolk County and walk the last few blocks to Liz’s sister.

Day 2 & 3:

We spent Thursday & Friday in LI…I mostly did prep for various things we have going on while we are here, Liz and the girls hung out with the family.

Day 4:

Travel Day. Long Island to Philly. Lunch with some friends in Philly and then onto Millersville MD. We stayed with a family from the Vineyard in Millersville. While most people tend to be a bit overwhelmed, when they see the 6 of us coming…our hosts were great.

That night we had dinner with our friend Eileen. She was a student when we were doing campus ministry at Cornell and was part of our church planting team at the Ithaca Vineyard.

Day 5:

On Sunday we went to the Vineyard Church in Millersville. In addition to Eileen, another family that used to be part of the Ithaca Vineyard was there.

I was able to speak at the church and talk about what we are doing in Dublin and then the pastors (Steven & Brenda Salsman) prayed for us. Afterwards, we went over to their home for an incredible b-b-q! Following lunch, we began the long trek to Chautauqua County in WNY and arrived there around 12:30.

At this point, we’ve mostly been relaxing, hanging out with my family, and doing some prep for our upcoming weekend in Ithaca.

Thanks to all of you who’ve been praying for us as we spend our time in the States! We’ll keep you up to date!