Flashback to May and North Carolina

Marmi and Papa came to visit us our last month in N.C.! They arrived the end of April, stayed for a week, and then we eight Joneses left our happy furlough home the end of May.

It was a WONDERFUL year for all the kids in school, and the Lord really answered prayers for friends for Isaac. He had a number of fun, sweet friends by the end of the school year. I got to go as a chaperone on the last field trip of the year to see him "in action" with them firsthand. My job was to stay relatively far away and keep my mouth shut so I didn't embarrass him. ;) I wasn't perfect at it, but I tried . . . mostly.

It was surprisingly hard for me to leave our beautiful area of N.C. I have so enjoyed our year there! We attended a precious church and had a really special community group. I have a couple of close friends in the area, and I never got tired of the quiet house, grocery shopping, easy meal prep and clothes dryers in the First World. I would watch British movies while folding the laundry - the height of fun. :) But I know it's time to get back to our beautiful life in PNG and let someone else fold my laundry while I go back to work in the Clinic lab. I love that job even more than folding clean clothes with the Brits!

Gavin, Isaac and all the kids except Seth are very ready to return. Seth would prefer to live in Texas. :) He and my sister's son are good friends, and he really likes Grandpadad and Grandma's house. However, Seth is almost invariably happy wherever he is, singing in operatic tones at the top of his lungs all over the house and yard. It's hilarious! Right now we're in CA with Marmi and Papa again, and the three boys are LOVING the Legos in the toy chest. Marcie is still recovering from the nasty tummy bug she and Gracie had; meanwhile, Gracie has returned to normal and taken over the backyard playhouse and evicted the boys. :) She is quite the little mama in her tiny cottage! Isaac is doing chores around the house trying to earn money for a virtual reality thingamabob he wants to take back to Ukarumpa to play with his friends there.

In a week we move on to Oregon, where we'll celebrate Marmi and Papa's 50th wedding anniversary with a family reunion! Then we fly to Australia the next day (July 14th) and on up to PNG and HOME on the 19th, Lord willing!

A helicopter flight with their favorite pilot!

Photos from a hike up Crowder's Mountain, west of Charlotte

The two Marcies

Climbing "Pride Rock," where they pretended to be lion cubs

More Dallas farewells

48th Anniversary!

Loving Grandma (with my little niece)

Chocolate cake is SO FUNNY, she thinks!

My brother's sweet family!

So proud of my baby brother!

He's a cop, so of course he brought us donuts our final morning in Dallas. :)

Aunt Mickey with her well-dressed quints!

Dallas farewells . . . the hardest part of being in overseas missions

We've been too busy packing, moving and making memories to post anything recently. I hope to catch up in the next couple of weeks before we leave for PNG. We've already said goodbye to my (Carrie's) family, including Aunt Pam and Aunt Cynthia. Now we're on the West Coast with Gavin's side of the family, having a great time except for the fact that Gracie and Marcie are really sick. We appreciate your prayers they'd get over this tummy bug quickly and that NO ONE ELSE WILL GET IT, please!

Lots of late nights and too much fun made Marcie a sleepy girl!

Aunt Pam and Seth

Aunt Pam and David

Will telling Aunt Pam all about it (whatever "it" is).

Gracie is inseparable from her "Cheetah Speed"

Aunt Katie and Seth

David holding court with Aunt Pam and Aunt Cynthia

Last playdate for FOUR years!! (D.V.) This is the saddest part  - kids change SO much in four years!

Isaac and his best friend Peter on a backpacking trip in Colorado

He Is Risen Indeed!

We celebrated Easter Sunday with my parents in NJ at our beloved Mountain Ridge Bible Chapel, full of happy childhood memories. 

Easter egg hunt two days late :)

Spring Break!

Visiting in Pennsylvania

Visiting Times Square! (No, we did NOT take the quints! I stayed back with them. Can you imagine??)

Visiting Ground Zero

Visiting One World Tower

Visiting Lady Liberty

"New York City was a remarkably accurate depiction of Spiderman!" - Isaac

Visiting the Jersey Shore and feeding the seagulls by throwing food into the air

Visiting Christian Missions in Many Lands, where we stayed

Visiting Luray Caverns

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Visiting dear friends who used to serve with us in PNG!

 A spaghetti dump dinner:

 The tablecloths were disposable, thankfully! :)

Tractor rides

Updated Jones 8 Update :)

April 11, 2019

Dear friends and family,

We are just over 90 days away from our anticipated return to Papua New Guinea (PNG)! We have tickets for the 14th of July, arriving at our home in the Eastern Highlands on the 19th. There is MUCH to be done before we depart, so along with our excitement we’re also soberly aware of our need of God’s help in this time of transition. Please pray we can end our furlough year wisely and well (and in good health, Lord willing!). We have lots of last doctor and dental appointments, a few speaking engagements we greatly look forward to, and many precious people to swing by and see on our trek back to the West Coast from North Carolina.

As we review our completed partnership team, we want to say a big THANK YOU to one-time givers, to those partners who have recently increased their giving, to those who have so faithfully and generously given all these years, and to those who pray for us. We appreciate continued prayer for God’s provision of wisdom, patience, love and peace as we travel and return to PNG. (We remember with gratitude and humility Dona and Odus, who went to be with the Lord this past year. We praise Him for His faithfulness to and through them and pray for comfort for their loved ones left behind.)

Again, THANK YOU more than we can ever say! We feel very blessed and loved.

Gratefully in Christ,

Gavin and Carrie Jones, for Isaac, Will, David, Marcie, Seth and Gracie

The attached photos are from a recent hike/climb up Crowder’s Mountain about an hour away from us.