Land of Our Sojourn

Last week we had the joy of celebrating Andy’s birthday. He is now three years old and making the transition to a BIG boy. Our family would not be the same without him. I remember after our 2nd was born. I (B) was having a hard time adjusting to two children, the activity of a toddler boy, and an increasing work load. We felt like two children was probably our limit. But as we talked we realized that we were making this decision without consulting the Lord in prayer. We said, ‘We’re not talking about this for 2 weeks. We are just going to have focused time in prayer.’ We came together after 2 weeks and found that God had totally changed our hearts! We really wanted another child. About 4 months later we were pregnant and 9 months later Andrew was born during our time in Texas. He continually surprises us with his wit, candor, and vocabulary. He is a total extrovert often asking if we are going to someone’s house or feeling disappointed if it is 'only’ our family. He is such a ch...

One of the struggles we often have in our normal life is the lack of beauty and peace. It’s always 100 degrees, there is no beauty (cement, trash, etc), and there aren’t any parks or natural spaces. If we aren’t careful we can really feel like we are missing out. I’m sure it’s a feeling we all have from time to time. But then there are moments when the Lord gives us a gift out of nowhere and we realize we have been believing a lie. Our life is actually very rich. The times I sweat to death doing a long training and I realize that I am witnessing things that many of my peers would love to see. I am doing a work that touches on the eternal whereas many peers may be losing passion for a job that seems to be meaningless. Or attending retreats throughout the year with soul stirring worship that many don’t get the opportunity to enjoy. These are just a few examples. Well, then enters last week. We get invited to spend a week free of charge at a retreat home in the mountains of Colorado. ...

We shared at a bible study group a few nights ago. It was (as usual) a joy to speak to others about our work. We have come to enjoy speaking with groups from a generation or so older than us. So often we are divided up by our age or life stage. I truly enjoy listening to their conversations as they are different then what 30-somethings are talking about. I am blessed to see their faithfulness to the Lord and to hear about what challenges they are facing. 
During the course of our conversation someone mentioned how they really began to understand our work. The word that came to his mind was ‘unglamorous.’ That is such an apt description. We often feel the pressure to tell a story, give a report, give people something to engage with. But in reality the day to day work is very unglamorous. Homeschooling with a 7 & 5 year old with a 2 year old running around; doing a session at a local church but only 5 people show up; hearing the struggles of a national worker but not really knowing h...

We love our home assignments. There is much to look forward to that we don’t have at home. But there are those moments when we wonder, ‘What on earth are we doing to our kids?’ The last few months have brought that question to our minds again. After settling near K’s family and dear church community there, we backed up for 10 days and headed north. We spent two Sundays at wonderful churches, but churches that our kids didn’t know. We also had 5 or 6 meals with wonderful families, but again, people our kids didn’t know. And we 'moved’ into a small home provided for us - another home that our kids didn’t know. You get the picture. You can see why we were a little anxious to see how they would react to these changes. Well… they didn’t amazingly well. Both churches had very different Sunday schools, but our kids happily did whatever. They played great at the other homes and genuinely enjoyed playing with new kids. Sometimes we fear what 'damage’ our lives might do to our child...

Sometimes when you attempt to communicate clearly simply knowing the language isn't enough. I've sat through many talks from Westerners that have come for short term trips using many analogies that don't compute here. For instance, American Football is hardly ever a good analogy in Asia. If your translator doesn't understand you, you can bet that your audience won't understand either. They most likely will nod and smile, and laugh when you laugh. But it's probably just because they don't want you to feel embarrassed. When you can speak the language, then it will become clear that no one understands you. The frown and the wrinkled brow make it quite clear. So, when we are teaching abstract concepts we have learned that you need a good story that is relatable. When teaching about the need to keep trying, we use the analogy of learning how to ride a motorbike. When we teach about the concept of having a clear goal and working towards it, we use the picture ...

In our interactions with Kali people, we are often reminded that who we are and how we think is largely shaped by the culture around us. Last week I stopped at the nursery where I've been purchasing soil and plants for 7 years. This Kali family is very warm. We have periodically watched our children grow up and visited them during the fasting month. We are not close, but we have known each other for quite awhile. I hopped out of the car and noticing that the husband wasn't there, I asked his wife, "I haven't seen you in awhile, how is your family?" With a big smile on her face (which can be the sign of embarrassment) she said, "Oh, we have terrible news... my husband left us and married another woman." Naturally I was shocked. I tried to ask a few gentle questions, but she was happy to tell the whole story. "He's had girlfriends for 4 years now, but just last month he got married! That young girl was just looking for money.... " Thr...

After many years living here, we have discovered the importance in our culture of observing religious holidays. As a Westerner we have a certain emotional response to how you celebrate appropriately. The sentiment is the same here as well, but it comes from practices that are very different from the Western tradition. I'll share two with you. First of all, attending religious ceremonies is huge. Where in our tradition there isn't a service on Christmas Day, here there are multiple services. In addition to the Sunday before Christmas, after Christmas, and after New Years, there are services Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, and New Years Day. Each on of these is at least 2 hours long - sometimes 3! In this culture who is present and who isn't are clearly noticed (and noted). This year we did our very best to attend all the Christmas services (but were worn out by the time the New Years ones rolled around). :) Second in importance is the tradition of v...