Hello and Goodbye

Hello America! We are back baby! And yes, for those of you worried about Tucker and his lack of chicken tenders, he has eaten plenty of Chick-fil-A and Zaxby’s since our return. I told you in the last post we had some big news coming and here it is. It’s so good to be back home but at the same time home is also Brazil. So much so, that after talking to Kevin at Moyo and Roberto at Vinde, we have decided to go on staff with Moyo and continue to serve in Brazil. This is a big change from how we thought this whole volunteer year thing was going to go but, as a family, we are super excited. Everyone’s on board for staying. So that means our time in the States will be short. It’s even Facebook official now.

Never in a million years would I have ever told you this would be where I saw myself in my late, really late, 40s (or really any time in my life, for that matter). But like the Bible says in Proverbs 16:9: A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. So here we are. I always kind of thought of missionaries as super spiritual, holy people, but as so many things are in God’s upside down kingdom, He has decided to use a regular ol’ plain Jane family from Georgia to minister to vulnerable kids and their families in Brazil.

If you’d like to find out more about the ministry or become part of our support system, you can click this link- https://moyomissions.givingfuel.com/cain-missionary-support.

Prayers are always appreciated and much needed for us, the ministry, and the kiddos we serve.

This means, we have a lot to get done before we go back and become full-time missionaries on the field. It’s actually kind of crazy to think about and say out loud.

But let’s back up, first things first, right off the plane, Papaw picked us up and we needed dinner and what’s more fitting in the South than a big glass of sweet tea, chicken and dumplings, fried orka, and some pinto beans and cornbread. Then it was time for bed.

We spent some time with them before we headed to my mom’s house.

We’re splitting our time between Blue Ridge and Gainesville. Since we are staying in Brazil, Trevor decided to close the warehouse. Most of July was spent winding down the business. We had some great volunteers come help us. Shout out to Poplar Springs Baptist Church and 12 Stone Church! You all were rockstars helping in the hot, hot warehouse.

A few days after we got back to the States, Mason turned 16! Of course, this young man wanted sushi. I can’t tell you how much he enjoys it. I also, can’t tell you where the time goes. And I also can’t tell you why my clean cut boy now wants to let his hair grow out. It’s so curly and thick. It’s driving me crazy but he likes it and it’s not a hill to die on, so there it is.

We were able to sneak off and have a fun day bowling and eating ice cream with my bestie, Alicia, and her sweet, beautiful girls. We were so busy catching up, these were the only pictures I took. I’m the worst.

There was still lots more work to do at the warehouse including breaking down 2,000 boxes and climbing in the dumpster (yep, that’s the top of Mason’s curly head you see in there) to stack them neatly so we can fill it up. So much work; unpacking thousands of items of clothes; sorting between, men’s top and bottoms, women’s tops and bottoms, kids’, and misc; cleaning out the loft area, organizing for a large yard sale, selling Trevor’s truck, selling my camper (I’m holding back tears just thinking about the couple driving off with it), buying some items we need for when we return to Brazil, and picking out some additional things that we already have that we would like to bring back to Brazil.

I have to say it was much easier to pack for one year than this. For one year, it’s easy to say, “I can do without that for a year.” But now I want to bring everything and I can’t. I’m limited to airline baggage constraints.

But it hasn’t been all work. The boys and I snuck off for a night to Pigeon Forge with my mom and we drove through Cades Cove.

An ambulance and a forestry service truck came through both with lights and sirens blaring so we didn’t see lots of wildlife. Hopefully, whoever needed the medical attention got what they needed in time.

Of course, we stopped at the old churches along the way. Poor Trev stayed behind sweating in the warehouse.

Bunch of knuckleheads. Tuck is pretending to be the wildlife that Mason shouldn’t be feeding.

We mainly just drove through the Smokies and hung out.

We decided to hike up to Clingman’s Dome, now called Kuwohi. Clingman’s Dome is the highest point in Tennessee and the third highest east of the Mississippi, standing at 6,643 feet.

It’s a pretty short hike to the 45-foot tall concrete observation tower but it’s steep.

The weather at the tower did not cooperate for the stunning photos I was hoping to take (ha, stunning, ya’ll know my picture taking skills better than to ever expect stunning) but the foggy effect was kind of cool.

Visibility might have been terrible but…

we had a fun time anyway.

I love the Smokies. Mountains are my happy place. It’s just so peaceful.

Plenty of elk to see.

Tell me you’re in the South without telling me you’re in the South.

Riding around made us hungry. We tried a place called Taco Ranch. Their taco flavors were crazy bananas. Mason ordered Seoul Sister Chicken, and the Lobster and Avocado tacos. I had the Kicked Up PB&J (yes, as in peanut butter and jelly) Bacon Burger and the Buffalo Chicken tacos. Tuck opted for the Nashville Hot and mom stuck to a regular steak taco that came with fries for some weird reason.

Then it was off to our hotel. Tuck was digging it. If you’re ever in Pigeon Forge the new Embassy Suites is really nice. Thankfully, we had a free night so that made it so much better. The rooms were nice and clean and the staff was super friendly.

We rode around window shopping and hanging out and, of course, had to have lunch. We had such a good time. Our waiter was awesome. Our time playing time was over and we needed to head back.

We were able to make it to Tuesday night dinner and Papaw and Nana’s house. We were missing a few faces but a good many of us were there. Thanks for the picture Corey.

We also stopped by to visit Poppy in his new place. He looked well and it was good to catch up.

We were just in time to watch Lily’s first flag football game. She did such a great job. So proud of her. Amelia’s first volleyball game wasn’t soon enough for us to watch it. Maybe next time, Mills.

The boys had a water play date (they are getting too old to call these play dates but I don’t know what else to call them). I’m kicking myself because I didn’t get a picture with my bestie, Alicia, again. Ugghh. I was so busy catching up, I didn’t think about it.

The boys also snuck in a movie before youth group with their friend Joshua. The boys also went to cosmic bowling on Friday with their youth group but I don’t have any pictures of that either, as I just dropped them off. At this age, there’s no more having their mom walk them in kind of stuff.