I can't believe that they start so early in life. Start? Start what, you might ask! Well... start being a typical man. Well, I guess I might be stereotyping men. So, I am sorry for that. I am confident that there are men who really enjoy sharing details about their life. Maybe there are men who like taking the time to write and share things. Unfortunatley, it is my experience that most men are short and to the point. They are motivated to get to the point and do it quickly. Conversation is just not many men's strong point. So why, you might ask, that I say I can't believe that they start so early in life? Because Sam landed in Poland, in another country, thousands of miles from his mom. He flew overnight in a plane and experienced many things (I think) already today. And...though I really wasn't expecting to hear from my boy at all, he wrote the following note by email:
Hey mom this is sam. just checking in. how is it over there? Has Elizabeth gotten better? well e-mail soon!

lots of love
sam

It cracked me up! I am thankful for even that much, though! Just hearing from him made me light up. Then a an hour or so later, he IM'd me. That was pretty cool. We "chatted" for a minute or two. I really don't know what he has done or what he thinks of Poland, but I know that he slept 8 hours on the plane. And thus, he was not tired at 1:00am their time when he was sending me an instant message.

His new "mom" emailed us and shared that the place they are staying in is wonderful. She said that the whole trip time was 24 hours. They are glad to have arrived safely. Here is a portion of the note she sent us:

Our accommodations are excellent. We are on the 3rd floor of a newly
renovated building, which is being used as a Christian Center. It is
spacious and clean. It is right beside the bus line, grocery store,
Obi (Lowes type store), mini mall, a few restaurants, and the open
market. Dennis, this is an EXCELLENT place for future groups. Plenty
of bathrooms & accommodations. Currently, we are the only ones staying
in the building. Even if others were staying here, we would have
complete privacy. This internet access is available in our building.
Plus there is a water filter that treats the entire building's supply
of water. So we can drink freely!

Tomorrow we will rest, go to the grocery, get acclamated to the area,
visit with friends, and visit downtown Radom. We really could not ask
to be more centrally located, and the facilities here are better than
we've experienced on any other trip.

My precious Sam, if you are reading this, know that we love you and are praying for all of you. I think Jacob is missing you the most... or at least he is definitely anticipating missing you.