Making Memories

We apologize that it has taken a little while for us to update! I may have to spread out the last few weeks over a few different posts. We just got internet in our apartment the day before yesterday (one thing we have already learned….everything in Israel is a process) :) . So, where to begin…

We spent the week before our departure in Huntsville. We had a great time with our family. We were able to spend a lot of quality time with them before we headed out, which we were abundantly thankful for. We were able to swim, hang out, eat at Casa Blanca (3 times!), see a movie, play lots of Liar’s Dice, and even celebrate our anniversary while we were there! It was a great week to say the least!  We were also able to see the folks at West Huntsville Baptist ( the Lord has used so many of them in Nathan’s life for so long, and now my life since we have been married. ) It was encouraging to worship with them, fellowship with them, and be exhorted by them while we were there. We truly are surrounded by “so great a cloud of witnesses.”

Tuesday (July 17) was departure day. My family came into town the night before and w all hung out that night. We were so blessed to have our families together to spend time with them all before we left. Praise God! We  finished up all of our last minute packing on Tuesday morning and headed off to Dreamland for our last meal in the states. It was a good way to go out! After that we were off to the airport. It was an emotional goodbye (as most are). I would like to say bittersweet, but in that moment it just seemed bitter. We are blessed. Our family prayed over us and sent us off in the name of the Lamb. We have an incredible family. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Once they sent us off, we made our way to the gate (with 4 carry ons…one weighing in at 65pounds!) And with only a little hurdle through security we arrived at the gate. We spent most of that time and the time on our first flight (to Chicago) trying to distract one another from thinking about our difficult goodbyes. There were many tears shed, but God is good, and we found abundant rest in that Truth.

Our first flight was to Chicago, then to Istanbul, and eventually we landed in Tel Aviv at 8:15 on the eve of July 18^. We met up with another MSIH student and after trying to weigh our options…decided that renting a car and driving to Be’er Sheva would be the best and most cost effective way to go. We got our rental, squished all of our bags into a tiny European style car, plugged our location into the GPS and headed south to the Negev. We made our way through windy, dark roads and came to the place our GPS had led us to. Needless to say, it was NOT Be’er Sheva. It was about an hour the wrong way. Making memories is all we’re doing : ) We plugged in the address again, double checked it, and headed for the real Be’er Sheva. We arrived around 2 am. The Vogets (the folks who lived in our apartment before us…and fellow MSIH’ ers) had some friends that had come and put some food in our fridge, so we indulged a bit before going to bed. The Chapmans (our food providing friends) along with the Vogets have been a huge blessing to us! The Lord has used them both to help make the transition easier and to help Be’er Sheva feel like home : ) We are abundantly thankful for both these families! 

I suppose I will end here for now…this post is getting rather lengthy. But I want to thank all of our dear brothers and sisters for your prayers and your support. We are blessed to be co-laborers with you all! We praise God for you.

For sending mail:

Nathan and Katie Douthit
c/o Medical School for International Health
Ben Gurion University of the Negev
P.O. Box 653
Beer Sheva 84105
Israel

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