On The Road Again

Eric and Wendy Hofman, world travelers extraordinaire, are at it again, traversing the globe, leaving no stone unturned and no dessert untasted in their path. Here is an excerpt from their travel journal:

March 6th: We now find ourselves in Libreville, the capital of Gabon, staying at a guesthouse run by our good friends, Steve and Alace. No one goes home hungry after a stay with the Straws, and this weekend is no exception. Last night, after enjoying a delicious salad with grilled chicken (we don't get much lettuce here in Gabon, so salad is quite a treat!), the Straws treated us to a dessert extravaganza at La Genoise. We had ice cream and cookies, and played a wacky game of Mad Libs, which included a story of “amoebas dancing glaringly”.

Today, we plan to go to a nice beach in Libreville, where Wendy will continue her studies, while the rest of us relax, read, and play on the beach. Hopefully the change in scenery will be good for Wendy, who has been studying like crazy for her Board exam, which will be taking place March 23rd in Omaha.

We're scheduled to arrive in Omaha on March 10th, and it's forecasted to have a high of 47, with possible snow. 47 sounds pretty warm for March in Omaha, but I'm sure it will feel quite frigid to us. Perhaps a pair of long underwear will be in order! It sure will be nice to see our families again. It's been over a year since we were last home.

Today marks our 1 year mark for being in Africa. We arrived at Cotonou, Benin on March 6, 2009 - my how quickly the time goes. In this past year Wendy has performed over 500 eye surgeries, Eric has made thousands of entries into QuickBooks, and we’ve gotten a little taste of what life is like in Africa. And we hope that through it all, many have been brought into a closer relationship with God, the author and creator of all life.

What will the next year bring? Only God can answer that one. But we can be sure that it will be something that He will use for good, and we can be certain that we are well loved by God. And this is a fact that is more satisfying than a bowl of chocolate ice cream and more fascinating than a troop of dancing amoebas!