There and Back Again

Last Thursday afternoon, around 4:30, our British Airways Boeing 777 touched down at Bush Intercontinental and settled at Terminal E. That marked the end of 65 straight hours of travel that had begun at 11:00 PM Houston time on Monday. Those hours had taken me from Chiang Mai, Thailand, through Singapore, Johannesburg, London, and Chicago. I had flown on Silk Air, Singapore Air, and British Airways. I watched eight movies and slept some. Over the past two months I had logged approximately 77 hours of flying time and about 30,000 miles. But I was home and glad to be there. I was back.

In Chicago we were to deplane, gather our checked luggage, proceed through customs, and then recheck our bags and board the same plane for Houston. My one checked suitcase did not make the trip. I was told to file a claim with the British Air agent in Houston when I arrived, which I did. Because I’d packed for a one month journey that would have me in both summer and winter, working, camping, preaching, and teaching, I’d needed a variety of costumes and had taken almost all my useable clothes with me. My carry-on luggage contained two changes of clothes. Those and the clothes I was wearing would just have to do for a while.

Pat Forrester kindly picked us up at Bush and drove us home. We stopped on the way at Hobby Airport to pick up Connie (from Kansas City) and Elizabeth (from Dayton, Ohio), a couple of doctoral students from the United Theological Seminary that were coming in to meet with me and with each other for a couple of days. (That’s for a future post.) Chris (from North Carolina), another student was arriving later, and Matthew, yet another had already driven into Houston with Beverly, his wife, and Taylor, his daughter from North Carolina.

The six of us went to our house where we found that Shelley Waldo and some unknown others had thoughtfully provided a crockpot containing a pot roast and vegetables. Fresh rolls were rising waiting to be baked. An apple pie and Blue Bell Homeade Vanilla also stood ready. Chris soon arrived in a rental car, and Diana Forrester joined us as well. We enjoyed again what we had so often enjoyed in Uganda – gathering around the table and sharing a meal, stories, and lots of laughter with friends and fellow servants of Christ.

I had to hit the ground running. On Friday morning I picked up the UTS students at the new La Quinta and we drove to southwest Houston for a tour of the community ministries of Windsor Village United Methodist Church. That experience is the material for another post, however. WVUMC is the largest Methodist congregation in the UMC. It is an African-American congregation led by Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell, whom you may remember as the pastor who offered prayer at both of President Bush’s inaugurations. I took the group to lunch at the Goode Company Texas Bar-B-Q on Kirby, high on my list.

Friday evening (dinner at Pei Wei’s) we met to talk about their doctoral work. Saturday morning Trisha Taylor, co-author of The Leader’s Journey joined us for a discussion of personal transformation. We worked on clarifying our thinking on the question of how exactly does personal change take place in the life of a disciple of Jesus. After lunch (Sundance Grill in Seabrook) we worked further on the projects each of these students is pursuing.

Saturday night I took them to Galveston for dinner at the Original Mexican Café (a personal favorite --there is a pattern here – I get to eat at all my favorite restaurants in one weekend under the guise of hospitality for first-time visitors to Houston) and a ride on the Bolivar Ferry (another personal favorite). Sunday morning I picked them up and we returned to Windsor Village UMC for a worship service. I’ll describe that in a later post as well. They wanted to return to the Goode Company Texas Bar-B-Q for lunch, so I obliged. We drove past the new Lakewood Church (formerly known as the Compaq Center) and then home through a blinding rain.

I picked them up a couple of hours later for a return trip to the city. On Sunday evening we worshiped with Ecclesia, a congregation of 20-somethings that meets in the old West End Baptist Church on Durham every Sunday evening. This is an amazing congregation made up mostly of young people doing some awesome ministry in the city and among the poor and disenfranchised in Central America. Chris Seay, their pastor, is the son of one of my college friends and is a cousin of our own Sterling Edwards. Following worship we dined at Star Pizza with dessert at Amy’s Ice Creams. I took them back to La Quinta and this morning they began their journeys back home.

I left the house this morning at 4:00 to take Elizabeth to Hobby. When I backed out, I noticed an orange minivan parked in front of my house and a tall, grey-haired man standing outside the open side door. He appeared to be loading suitcases in it, as if one of my neighbors was embarking on a long trip. Then I noticed he held a clipboard. I stopped and asked him if I could be of help. He was a lost luggage deliverer and he had my suitcase!

Matthew and his family will begin their drive home sometime this morning. Chris headed for Bush Intercontinental late last night. I’ll take Connie to Hobby at 10:30. A few odds and ends around the house will command my attention for the remainder of the day. A bank account is begging to be balanced. I need a haircut. A couple of minor repairs are waiting.

Tomorrow will be the final day of the sabbatical journey that began on April 20. Then, on Wednesday morning I will report for duty. I am eager to do so. Much is in my heart and head now that was not present in April. Much that was present in April has been laid aside as well.

I’m glad to be back again. I’ll see you Wednesday evening, or perhaps this weekend. Thank you for your generosity that made this period of sabbatical possible. If you get tired of hearing stories that begin with “when I was in Oaxaca, Uganda, South Africa or Thailand…,” just roll your eyes and I’ll get the message.