Today, walking home from taking Drew to school, I saw a bald eagle gliding over the trees just past our house. There’s one that lives somewhere near here. We’ve seen it (and another) many times. And that got me thinking about how much we’ve enjoyed being here. University Place is definitely “suburb”. It’s definitely not “inner city” (I’m pretty sure we never saw an eagle in all our years living on the Hilltop in Tacoma). But it’s urban, too. And we’ve really enjoyed being here–to be surrounded by trees, grass and quiet streets. In Puebla, you don’t have too many places like our neighborhood.

But, it’s definitely harder to know and see the neighbors here (as good as they are). In Puebla winter is over by now and it’s mostly all sunshine all day long. Fresh fruit and vegetables are cheaper and more abundant. High, really high, mountains are all around us.

So we are thankful for where God has put us and count our blessings in both places. And “good bye” is a constant refrain for missionaries–with apologies to C.S. Lewis who claimed “A Christian NEVER says goodbye!”

*And “baches” in the title is pronounced “ba-chays”. It is the Mexican word for “pothole”. (maybe it’s used in other countries too; I don’t know).