“Faith is taking the first step even when you do not see the whole staircase” Martin Luther King Jr.

It was a different Christmas this year. And truthfully, I’m not sad to see it go.

There were many amazing things about it. It was great to have Zandra home, it was fun to spend time with Josh and Sam (on our forced family events, lol), and it was good to continue with traditions and start some new ones. We ate well, went for some nice walks, spent time just lounging, stayed up too late and slept in to late, and exchanged some nice gifts. Lots of laughs, great conversation, and free flowing hugs.

But, we really missed Gabe& Shannon and Zach. We were able to Facetime/video chat with them on multiple occasions and that was great. Those are precious moments. But, we do look forward to the years when we are all together again!

It was also a difficult Christmas that also was filled with a lot of tears, heartache, worry, stress, sadness and then the only thing to cling on to: faith. It definitely felt like we were walking completely in the dark trusting that the next step was there and would guide us all up the staircase that led to a much better place.

Zach had already been struggling with homesickness as well as some other challenges on his mission when he was hit with a very bad case of Dengue fever. I think from what I’ve read from other missionary experiences, the dengue can be very mild – where people just have a fever, feel unwell, a bit headachey (and Zach said they often call everything “the dengue”), but bounce back within a couple of days. Unfortunately it hit Zach like a ton of bricks – and also affected him emotionally (which in speaking with our doctor here, as well as Doctor Google, can impact people with some bad anxiety and depression). For days there was no sunshine, no hint at a silver lining in some very very dark clouds.

We felt completely helpless. And he felt completely hopeless. Luckily, we were able to talk to him frequently and sometimes I knew that he was holding on desperately to our faith and simply surviving from call to call (which at one point were multiple per day). I know it sounds dramatic , but I have to say, these have been some of the worst weeks of our lives.

Thankfully, he has been feeling better, and as he heals physically, he is becoming stronger emotionally too. We spoke for New Years and he was feeling much better – much more hopeful and motivated – but said it is too soon to look back on the past few weeks as they were some of the darkest of his life. With every call we now have, we can see the Zach that we know resurfacing – the humour, the sarcasm, the curiosity, the motivation and the love. It is a relief to see.

We are so grateful for all the support that people have given Zach. So many emails and words of encouragement, so many prayers and messages sent to him. I am also grateful for the tremendous love and support we received – phone calls, texts, food and treats, fasts, prayers, great advice and listening ears.

We truly know that there were angels, earthly and beyond, around us and around Zach during this time.