Monday, July 23, 2012

Our Trip Comes to an End! Thank You!


Friday night we arrived in Hingham, Mass., just outside of Boston.   Our short, seven-hour drive from Baltimore turned out to be an eleven-hour drive because we had stop-and-go traffic all along the New Jersey turnpike.  In true Omasombo fashion, there was lots of laughter and no complaining.
After our long trip, we were excited to arrive at the Lussier home, where we were welcomed with a warm meal and new friends.  We sat around the table and laughed about where we’d been and where we were going. 
Sitting around the table after dinner, laughing with the family I’d come to know and love over the last year, I began to realize just how hard the next 24 hours were going to be.  I looked at each of their faces and thought back to the time we’d shared together.  Up until then, I was able see my friend David whenever I wanted.  Even though the Omasombos had lived in a dangerous part of town, I always felt like I could offer them some sort of protection because I was only a phone call away.   For the first time since we decided to embark on the adventure to Maine, it hit me that the van was going to be empty on the way back.  No more Emmanuel babbling the ABCs, no more Louise and Esther giggling over a whispered secret in the back seat, no more Poya giving a reassuring smile when I got us lost in a new city.  As the weight of this revelation began to sink in, I decided the time would come to say goodbyes and be sad, but our next 24 hours were about having fun and cherishing the precious time we had together before we turned the van around and headed home.  
We woke up early the next morning and the Lussiers had a surprise for us:  Everybody put on shorts, we loaded up two cars, and then headed for the beach!  Nobody in the Omasombo family had ever seen the Atlantic Ocean, and they’d asked about it almost every time we passed a river or lake on the interstate.  The only word I can think of to adequately describe the next two hours is “heavenly”.
At one point, I stopped in my tracks and surveyed the scene unfolding around me.  I marveled over the joy in David and Esther’s eyes as they recklessly crashed into and jumped over wave after wave.  I looked to my left to find Germaine, Alan, and Emanuel expertly filling buckets to make sandcastles.  I caught Louise and Deborah laughing and throwing a football out of the corner of my eye.  Finally, I saw Omasombo embracing his wife Poya in ankle-deep water as they smiled and watched their family laugh and play.  The gravity of the moment hit me when I remembered back to the night before, when the couple had recounted their story of escape from Congo to us at the dinner table.   Here they were, eleven years after they were separated, certain one another were dead, standing on a beach together, on their way to a better life, watching the children they love laugh, play, and live life to the full.  It was heavenly.
Before long, we were back on the road.  We had only a short three-hour drive north to their new home, Lewiston, Maine.  All the prayers, financial support, and planning were finally coming to fruition!  We pulled into Lewiston around five o’clock Saturday evening.  It is a charming little town with cool architecture and a picturesque river running through the heart of town.  I thanked God as I thought about the different life Lewiston afforded my little buddy David and his family.
I will spare you all the details of our last two hours together.  I will simply say this: we cried, we prayed, we cried some more, we said we loved each other, I made a teary-eyed promise to fly up on my fall break, and we eventually stopped hugging long enough to get out the front door and drive off. 
As we drove away from the family I love, the tears kept coming.  I was overwhelmed at the thought that I couldn’t be there for them anymore.  I would soon be 1300 miles away back home in Nashville, and I couldn’t simply run across town to take them to the doctor’s office or buy some diapers.  And then, a few miles down the road, it hit me: I was never the one controlling the Omasombos’ fate.  I didn’t have anything to do with them miraculously escaping the turmoil of their native Congo, and I didn’t have anything to do with them getting from Congo to Nashville.  God was always the one in control; He just let me have a front-row seat to watch His love unfold in what He was doing in the Omasombos’ lives over the past year.  He let me play a part in His greater story, and (at least for now) the time has come for me to step back and trust that He will continue to protect and bless their family just like He has always done. 
In the same way, each one of you has played an integral part in God’s plan for the Omasombos.  Your prayers, financial support, and encouragement have been a constant reminder of God’s goodness.  We literally would not have made it to Lewiston without you.  In all, we were able to give the Omasombos just over $8,000.00 after travel expenses for the trip.  There lives are on a completely different path than they were six weeks ago because of your generosity and God’s provision. 
From the bottom of my heart, and on behalf of the entire Omasombo family,
Thank you.
 Habakkuk 1:5 "Look at the nations and watch--and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told."

Sincerely,
Tee Hassold

P.S. We will continue to update the blog with updates on the Omasombos and their lives in Maine.  The money raised on the blog over the last few weeks puts them in a great position to start their new lives, but we will continue to operate the PayPal link in hopes that more people will donate and we can continue to support their family.  As always, we appreciate your financial support and spreading the word to family and friends who you think might be interested in supporting the Omasombos.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Made it to DC! Headed to Boston

If you are visiting our blog for the first time please check out the full Omasombo story here
(We would love for you to post a comment if you have seen us on the road!)

Please consider donating by clicking here:
It was a long day on the road yesterday. Made it DC and now headed to Boston. Please enjoy some pictures and videos from our trip!

Cute Germaine wide eyed and bushy tailed at 5am 

Gorgeous Sunrise

 Here we go!

Headed to the White House

Tee and David taking a crucial pitstop to roll down the grassy hill

Way too excited!?


Emmanuel straight harassing truck drivers! 

Best effort to get David in front of the White House
(Terrible traffic. David and Will ran to get a picture at the red light. Total chaos!)

Our little "Road Warrior" Emmanuel feeling much better Day 2

After a good night sleep and a fresh haircut... David got to make his own waffle for breakfast this morning!


Some other fun happenings so far: 

God is SO on Team Omasombo. He provided for us quickly for us when we needed a van. We were losing hope with about 5 different rental companies that were within 200 miles telling us "sold out". We prayed. Called Budget. They had a 12-passenger van. In Nashville. Much cheaper :)
ALSO we needed to change hotels to a different location. Booking.com said absolutely no refunds. We prayed. Full refund :) 

David has an infatuation with "Spy Cars" since we started driving. Quotes include:
"Mr. Hassold, how much does a spy car cost?"
"Does this can have turbo boost?"
"Does Honda got spy cars?"
"Maybe I will fix cars when I grow up so I don't spend lots of money and just get a spy car"
"If you tell a spy car to turn into a dirty car, will it turn into a dirty car?"

We are playing the license plate game. We only need 13 more states!

Someone drove by us waving with Congo to Maine pulled up on their iPhone. It was awesome!

Bringing 3 iPads to entertain the kids... Clutch call.


More updates to come... Thanks for visiting! Keep praying. God Bless!




Thursday, July 19, 2012

And We're Off...

Headed north en route to Maine!

Team Omasombo left Nashville this morning at about 5am. We picked up the van ("The Silver Bullet") which you all have generously provided for us with your donations. The van was definitely an answered prayer (we'll include that story later).  Packed the van completely FULL last night then wrote all over it to advertise our blog.

We hope someone who has seen us our van visits this blog (if you have seen us on the road and found our blog THANK YOU... please leave a comment!)

All went smoothly getting on the road except one small hiccup. About 45 miles out of town sweet little Emmanuel threw up his breakfast. Could have been the Somali food he was munching on at 6am. No big deal....  Omasombo cleaned it right up! What a trooper.

We will keep you updated! Look out for more posts with pictures once we make it to DC.

Please keep praying for safe travels. THANK YOU SO MUCH! We could not make this trip without you.

God Bless,

Team Omasombo
David ready for a road trip!

Little Emmanuel (the yaker :)

The whole road trip crew! (Minus Will)


Will, Tee, and David

Maddison helping with the bags!

Josh, Tee, Will and the Omasombo ride


Sunday, July 1, 2012

Over $7,000 raised! 

Wow! Thank you so much for all of your prayers and donations thus far. We have been completely overwhelmed with your generosity. We wish each and every one of you could see the smiles on the Omasombo's faces when we told them the total amount of donations. We are all so very grateful. Please continue to pass along the word about this wonderful family. We are over half way to our goal of $10,000! God is so good.

God Bless!

Team Omasombo