We were supposed to return to our home in Belize on Wednesday (January 15). We have been on a 6 month home ministry assignment where we visited over 2 dozen churches in 15 states. We have loved our time visiting churches and friends, sharing about what God has been doing in our ministry, and hopefully casting a vision for world missions. But we were ready to go home again, and our kids were looking forward to going back to their schools there. Sadly, our 11 year old son came down with Influenza A right before traveling. His fever was up to 104.3, and even moving a little bit would make him vomit. On Tuesday night, we made the decision that he would stay back at our California home (my parents house) and that I would stay with him. It was a tough decision. My parents and my sister all have health situations that would make Influenza complicated…but we saw no other solution. We didn’t really like splitting up the family, but it was hard to see any other option.

When Ray and the other kids arrived at the airport, the airline personnel asked for our letter that would permit Ray (the father) to travel with his kids without me (the mother). This is a requirement many countries have, in order to stop a parent in a custody dispute from taking their children out of the country. The night before, the airline official on the phone made it clear no letter would be needed. But we brought two letters anyway–one that was notarized but had a date from 2023 and the other that we made up and signed right before leaving with the current date. So Ray presented his letters. The woman said she didn’t think they would work, but that she would ask her manager. Ray texted me to pray that they would accept it, if God wanted them to go to Belize that day. We both prayed. She returned, saying that they would accept our letter.

Ray and the kids went on to their gate. They decided to stop at Starbucks for a little coffee. While there, our 14 year old daughter became so weak and shaky that she could barely move. The flu hit her suddenly and hard. Ray texted me and we prayed for wisdom. We decided it would be equally as hard for her to continue as to return back to my parents house by this time, so they decided to proceed. However, not long before boarding, the airline notified them that the letter would not be accepted. This left no time for me to drive to the airport and give permission, and besides with our daughter so sick, it just made sense to return home and let the flu run it’s course through the family. We were disappointed and a little frustrated, but praying for God’s sovereign will to be done.