Thankful

Thanksgiving isn't a holiday in Guatemala. Our weekly cheese vendor knocked on our door this morning. Mark went to work at the Bible school. The big Trigal bus is rumbling by every hour or so. (Then again - the sun is also shining and the flowers and still blooming...) Still, it's strange to be in a place where life goes on when I know almost everyone in the States is gathering together with family and friends. I'm busy cooking a traditional feast  this morning for our Bible school potluck (because I'm American) while I listen to the bustling sounds of life outside (because I'm in Guatemala). I'm awfully grateful for the chance to experience both today, but it also has me feeling nostalgic about Thanksgivings gone by.

When I was a kid, we always went to my grandmother's house for Thanksgiving. I have such vivid memories of helping put the leaves in the table and setting out the best dishes. There were never quite enough of them when the whole family gathered together, so the kids (who sat at the card table at the end of the big table) ate with the bubbled glass plates that only came out for holidays as well. Once I got old enough to get the best dishes, I wistfully longed for the fun dishes of my youth. They still make me smile when I see them in the china cabinet. My cousins and I would sneak olives from the relish tray, bounce back and forth between the bustling kitchen and the inevitably interesting conversations the men were having in the den. While my aunt carved the turkey, all of the kids would gather around and making cheeping sounds while she fed the "little birds." One grandma would make the gravy, and the other would dish up mountains of mashed potatoes into the dish we always used, jelly into the dish we always used, stuffing into the dish we always used... There was such comfort in that continuity, and I'm so grateful I had the chance to experience it.

When I got older and got married, we decided (as many do) to split holidays, and celebrated Thanksgiving with my husband's family, which is much bigger than mine. As a result, they did a potluck, with everyone bringing something to share. Usually one uncle would cook (or deep fry, in later years - yummm) a giant turkey. One aunt specialized in pies of all sorts of delicious varieties. There were mashed potatoes, homemade bread and jelly, cheese platters, stuffing, and (most importantly) Mark's grandma's strawberry tapioca pudding. Just thinking about it makes me feel happy. Because there were so many people, we took turns hosting. We did so a couple of times, including the year I cooked a 28 pound bird. It was at my in-law's cabin in the woods often, as well as at Mark's uncle's country property where we enjoyed riding horses while we waited for the food to be set out. There was so much family fun in the little differences every year, and I'm so grateful I had the chance to experience it.

For the last several years that we lived in the States, my best friend and I piled her two girls and my three girls and ourselves and all our stuff into a minivan and took a road trip together. One year it was to St. Louis where we played at a children's museum and explored the city. One year we went back to our old hometown where we relived our earliest childhood memories and visited relatives we hadn't seen for years. One year she came and visited my grandparents, since it only seemed right that she should be familiar with the homes and town that were so important to me growing up. My bestie and I have literally been friends for our whole lives, and these girl trips strengthened and expanded our friendship and helped our daughters forge their on strong, vital relationships with one another. There was so much joy in this precious time together, and I'm so grateful I had the chance to experience it.

Since we've moved to Guatemala, Thanksgiving has taken on a different meaning to me. I understand a little more what it means to truly take time to be thankful, and why it's important to do so. I'm sure the first pilgrims longed for their loved ones far, far away.  Nonetheless, they chose to focus on the exciting possibilities around them in their new land, and the new and very different friends they'd made. Somehow the fact that their fellow travelers - the ones who'd come over with them, toiled with them, shared a common background AND future with them - became all the more dear and beloved. I get that now.  I get all of that. Our Thanksgivings here have been a mix of traditional Iowa Thanksgiving fare, Pennsylvania Thanksgiving fare, Southwest Thanksgiving fare, and a dash of traditional Guatemalan fare mixed in. There is so much growth and challenge in celebrating an American holiday here, and I'm so grateful I have had the chance to experience it.

In the end, after all of this reflection, all I feel is tremendously blessed. Sometimes I mourn for the fact that my kids won't know the same traditions that I knew, but I also delight in the opportunities they will get that I didn't. Just think of what stories they'll have to tell, and what traditions they'll be able to carry forward into their own families. I have so much to give thanks to God for in my past, present, and future, and I'm glad we have a day to contemplate and celebrate such things. Happy Thanksgiving, all!

The Social (Media) Missionary

Ah, social media.

(I could just leave it at that, couldn't I, and a good 83% or so of you faithful readers would probably join me in a poignant sigh and shake of the head...)

Social media is great. I had email from its earliest, dialup days, and have been surfing the web (or "net" as we first called it) since it existed. I got on FB years and years ago - just as MySpace and AOL were in the earliest spasms of their demise. I've had a blog as long as blogs were a thing, and have tried out Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, and most of the other social media things that I'm aware of. (Though, granted, being old enough to remember life before email also means I'm probably too old to understand or know about the latest and greatest options.) In short, I appreciate social media. I've forwarded and reposted with the best of them. But, I've also been in a relationship with the online world long enough to recognize its problems, especially for missionaries.

Don't get me wrong - I adore more than words can say that I can Skype with my family and they can keep up with what we're doing down here online. It's even better that it runs both ways, so we can be voyeurs too! Heck, I'm using Blogger right now as a means to talk about social media with all of you. Clearly, I appreciate this stuff. The advances in technology (especially for social purposes) of the last 10 years are truly mind boggling, and I, like most missionaries, am grateful for them literally every single day.

However, social media does give me pause.

Back in our "regular life" days, I never gave it a second thought what I put online. I mean, I didn't swear or repost things that said, "If you don't share this in the next ten seconds some horrible tragedy will befall you." I like to think I was conscientious of others. And, of course, I was careful not to put my social security number out there or tell the world that I was going on vacation and our house and all its possessions would only be guarded by a couple lazy cats. Aside from the normal precautions, though, I put up whatever I wanted, and didn't really consider what other people might think of it.  That's not the case now.

First off, there are safety concerns that are different here. Let me reiterate in no uncertain terms - we have NEVER felt unsafe in Guatemala, and we know God and his giant, muscular, sword-wielding angels are always with us. But, the statistics for this nation are less than good. We've known people who have had scary things happen to them. I won't elaborate, but it's definitely enough to make us extra thoughtful and prayerful about what we post. In the States, we took for granted that people who could and would protect us were just a 911 call away. There is no 911 here. In the States, we looked more or less like everyone else (except for being a bit better looking, perhaps). Here, we kinda sorta stand out a little bit, and have to be aware of that. In the States, we were always a lower-middle class family, and the fact that most of our possessions came from Goodwill or Salvation Army meant that they'd already literally been picked over and discarded once by the time we got them, so they weren't likely to appeal to the criminal class or anyone else. Here, even though we make next to nothing in the States for a family of 5, we're considered wealthy. (Of course, we're assumed to be even more so simply because of our light skin and country of origin). Because of all of those things, we have to think twice about what we post simply for safety's sake.

I can't imagine what it would be like for missionaries living in countries where it's dangerous or illegal to share the Gospel!

Another reason we're cautious, though, has nothing to do with the people here, and everything to do with the people back home. For some reason, everyone has a different and very specific idea of what a missionary is, and what a missionary should do... and NOT do. For example, some Christian folks we know are offended by the fact that we don't drink alcohol. Others think it highly improper that we have an X-Box and sometimes play <gasp> fighting games. What this means, then, is that every time we put something up on FB, we're inviting scrutiny of our ministry (and even our Christianity) in a way. Perhaps someone will be bothered by a secular CD or movie in the background of a picture, or a book by an author (Christian or otherwise) that they don't approve of, or a food package for an item that isn't missionary-y enough (don't laugh - this happens). We want, above all things, to be effective for Christ's sake, and therefore we strive to live in peace with all people as much as possible (Rom. 12:18), not cause others to stumble (1 Cor. 10:32), and avoid even the appearance of evil (1 Thes. 5:22). The trouble comes in not knowing what strange thing (to us) could cause these problems! Honestly, judgement and undue scrutiny of one believer by another for inconsequential things is one of the biggest problems in Christianity today, and it can be even harder for missionaries.

But, the last reason we try to be careful what we post is probably the most difficult. We live on donations. Therefore, we sometimes don't feel like we can do what we need to do with our money without being criticized. In the past (when we had regular jobs like most people), we considered whether or not we could afford something, and prayed about if God wanted us to buy or do it before we made any decisions. Now, we have to add another step and really consider what others might think. Please don't get me wrong - we try to be VERY faithful stewards of the funds God so graciously puts into our hands by the hard work and generous donations of others. (Trust me - we're some of the most frugal people you will meet!) BUT, it's hard to ensure that every social media post looks "frugal enough" for everyone's tastes. If we throw up a picture of ourselves eating out at a restaurant, for example, people might think we do so all the time, instead of understanding that we were attending a ministry dinner that was a part of our work here. If we put up a picture of our kids in a hotel or at the beach, folks might start imagining how much it would cost them to go to the same type of place, not realizing that things are not NEARLY as expensive (or nice) here as they are in the States, and we're required to take such a trip in order to stay in Guatemala to continue our ministry. Plus, going for the very cheapest option here can sometimes mean truly appalling accommodations, or even being unsafe. I know it sounds a little ridiculous, but it's also important. It sometimes feels like we can't afford (literally and figuratively) to offend people or make them think we're misusing donations. That's tough.

So, what's a social (media) missionary to do? Should we start adding captions to all pictures explaining away any possible misunderstandings or misinterpretations? ("The name brand shirt was given to us and that's 100% fair trade coffee! I swear!") Start censuring with bold, black lines over any pictures items that could be questionable? ("Sorry, family back home. I've blotted out all the smiles! Missionaries can't look too happy, after all...") Just leave out any and all information that could be problematic? ("Today we --------ed in the city of -------------- with a group of -------------...") Just give up on social media all together?

Um, maybe not. Instead, maybe I'll write a blog post about the challenges of being a missionary with social media, which will help people be thoughtful about their own reactions to posts and updates, and let them know just how hard missionaries really do try to not offend people (but to please Christ, above all). Who knows, it just might work, but not unless you hit ctrl+F7 and forward this blog post to 30 people in the next minute. 

Graduation Day(s)

The Guatemalan school schedule runs from January through October, which means we’ve just completed our academic year.  The traditional end to a person’s studies, of course, is marked by a graduation of some sort. We just celebrated our Bible school’s graduation, and wanted to share the experience with you!

First off, it might help to understand a little more about our students. Many have never finished 12^th grade, or even 6^th grade. Some arrive functionally illiterate. For a lot of our students, Spanish is a second language that they don’t use often. (We can identify with their challenges!) A sizeable number of our students have to take buses or drive and hour or more to attend classes. Almost all of them also are working full time jobs in addition to studying with us. Though our monthly fee is low (between $5 and $15 U.S.), it is still a hardship for a lot of our students to come up with this amount.

Their challenges are real, to say the least. Then again, so is their hunger for the Lord. This year, we had 144 graduates among our three different levels of study. Let me put that into perspective: 

That’s 144 people who have attended four-hour classes once (or more) a week for at LEAST the last three years, many of them for six or nine years. 

That’s 144 people who’ve taken the bus, or the taxi, or their bike, or their car, or who have walked to come to classes in either our location or one of our 12 extension schools. 

That’s 144 people who have decided that their desire to learn more about God and His precious Word was CONSISTENTLY more important EACH WEEK than whatever else they had to do on their class day. 

That’s 144 people who completed their homework, took their tests, attended special workshops and activities, and sat under great teaching when they didn’t have to do so. 

They chose Jesus. They chose the Word. They chose God. 

Wow. 

It humbles me still to know that people are being driven by their desire for the Almighty to take the harder but more important route in life. It humbles me even more to get the chance to be a part of a ministry that provides such solid instruction in Christian living and the Bible. I would say that I am the most blessed person on Earth, but the smiles on the faces of our graduates tell me that they feel the same way.

God is so good! 

Below are lots of photos of our graduation events. My apologies for not getting more or better pictures (especially of the big graduation day). There was just so much to do that we didn't have time to snap pics!  Because this was our largest graduating class ever, it was also our largest audience. The auditorium we use didn’t even have enough seats. What a wonderful problem to have – outgrowing the spaces you use to celebrate the work the Lord has given you!

Our first graduation - for licenciatura (highest level) students was at our facility. These are 3 of our teachers welcoming the audience and graduates.

Our director and one of the licenciatura graduates.

One of the traditions here is that the board helps the graduates into their robes, caps, and sashes. Here, one of our graduates is finishing the process. You can see (to the left) another graduate receiving her cap.

To be official, graduates must sign the book!

Gradates promising to uphold the highest level of integrity and service with the instruction they've received.

Worship is an important part of everything we do - including graduation!

Our speaker (a director of Bible schools in Costa Rica and Nicaragua) did a great job!

The lienciatura graduation took place on the last day of classes for the other two levels, so they still had to take tests once the festivities were over!

Our students host dinners for staff and teachers on their last days. They are such wonderful people!

Yummm!!! They brought in a grill to cook the steak on site.

This was the meal for the other (bigger) class.

Getting ready backstage before our big graduation day! There was a lot of work to be done...

144 caps and gowns to put on in around an hour!

Everyone helps to make the day go smoothly. Rebecca and Sarah were big helps!

One of our graduates proudly walking with his diploma in hand.

Ever study stopped for a photo op in front of the flags after receiving a diploma.

Pictures don't do justice to just how big of a day this is for our graduates, and for us!

It was standing room only in the audience.

Visa Run

Guatemala is a gracious nation, filled with wonderful people and striking landscapes. But, they also (of course) have laws. One of the laws that we are subject to has to do with how long a person can be in the country legally. Like many nations, Guatemala allows for a 90 days tourist visa. After 90 days, however, a person must leave the country for 72 hours. (There are a lot of nuances and options to this, of course, but I'm giving you the simplified version.)

What that means is that, for now at least, we must leave the country every 3 months, whether we want to or not. (Incidentally - this also means that we are filling up our passports quickly. It's 4 stamps - a whole page worth - every time we leave. Mark and I have already had to have pages added.) This is not at all uncommon for missionaries, and we're super blessed that our process is so relatively easy and cheap. One missionary friend of ours who was in the middle east was required to return to her home country (the U.S.A.) in order to renew her visa! Thankfully, we're only a 3 hour drive through the mountains from the border with Mexico. Many times, the process of crossing the border itself takes us as long or longer than the drive to get there. We have to stamp our passports out of Guatemala, pay a bridge fee to cross, pay to get our car fumigated on the Mexican side, go through a sometimes rigorous search process, fill out paperwork and get our passports stamped into Mexico, and then head on our way. Because everyone in front of us has to do the same, sometimes we have to wait a looooooooooong time in line. Sometimes we don't.

That's part of the "fun" of the border - you never know what it's going to be like. For the first several times through, I just took all the passports to the window for immigration to stamp out of Guatemala. On one visit, though, that was apparently not okay, and everyone had to get out of the car and come up one by one. Once, a border agent really, really wanted to convince me that we should just pay a fee at the border instead of staying the required 72 hours in Mexico. That was fine with me, since I was having this 15 minute conversation with the agent and her boss inside the air conditioned office. It wasn't quite as okay with Mark and the girls, though, who were waiting in the car with no idea where or why I'd been been taken inside the immigration building. Occasionally they hassle us for not having certain paperwork. Sometimes they charge an illegal 10Q per passport fee. We've been thoroughly checked almost every time on the Mexican side, but only once on the Guatemalan side. Once or twice, we've been told to go around the line and traffic on our return into Guatemala, which meant skipping out on being inspected AND sprayed. As you can tell, we never know quite what to expect!

While the border crossing itself can be interesting, and there's always something different, we tend to make the rest of the trip as uneventful (and cheap) as possible. When looking for a hotel in southern Mexico, it's important to consider safety. When looking for a hotel for a missionary family, it's important to consider cost. We had a place we were staying before, but they raised their rates and lowered their quality of service. Thankfully, we found another hotel (on recommendation from a friend) that's even cheaper and nicer, and on the beach! Because this place has a suite for rent, we have access to a kitchen, so we can bring our own food along (though, no fresh fruits and veggies, which are illegal to take across the border). This cuts down on costs for eating out.

Honestly, visa runs are a mixed blessing. We wouldn't choose to take this time or money away from our ministry work. Sometimes our 90 days runs out at a very inconvenient time, for example. But, we don't have a choice. As a family, we don't have any other vacations or time away except for these visa runs and our furlough trips back to the U.S. (which really aren't vacations, and are often much more exhausting than being at home even though we love every minute of them). So, we've chosen to embrace our visa run trips as a chance to really be together and relax. We take naps! We swim in a pool! We catch up on emails and other correspondence (like I'm doing with this blog right now)! We look for chances to pray for others or do any outreach that the Holy Spirit puts before us, but we also just soak up free time and the chance to be a family - not just missionaries.

We're prayerfully looking into other options - things that would change what we have to do every 90 days, or allow us two years with no additional requirements at all. I'm sure God will be faithful to help us wade through all the options and possibilities and show us the best possible fit. It would be nice to spend less money and time to stay legal with the Guatemalan government. To be honest, though, if it turns out that our best option is to keep making our visa runs just like we are right now, I'm ok with that, too!

Wheels for Jesus!

It's so much fun to join other ministries in the work they're doing! First off, it's nice to be included. Makes you feel good. But, it's also really fun to do God's work together. To make new friends. To rub shoulders with different people than you usually get to rub shoulders with. Plus, sometimes you can feel isolated and wonder about what else is going on in the world, and getting  glimpse into the work (and heart) of other missionaries is refreshing and encouraging.

We had the chance to work with some new folks and make some new friends this month. As these things often go, we ended up meeting a person from just down the road from where we used to live who regularly does ministry work in Guatemala. (Go figure.)

Anyway (and I apologize if I get these names wrong or miss someone), the ministries we hooked up with were called Bethel Ministries, Joni and Friends, and Mission Mobility. These guys gather and repair medical equipment (mostly wheelchairs, walkers, canes, etc.) and then transport them to Guatemala (and probably other places as well) to distribute them to those in need. One gentleman I met has a prison ministry in the States where he talks to the prisoners about the Gospel, and they have a shop where they repair equipment. How beautiful!

Because they were going to be doing a distribution in our town, Rachel, Rebecca, and I were able to tag along and help out. Rebecca did intake and exit paperwork, including giving every person who came for a chair a number, and taking pictures of the smiling recipients at the end of the day. Rachel and I assisted with translation. It was a humbling experience, to say the least.

Many (most) of the people who came were in desperate need of a wheelchair, and had never had one. The healthcare in Guatemala is bad, especially for people who have very profound needs and challenges. People who are so faithful to do this kind of work - collecting and bringing equipment - change lives! Their carefulness to present the Gospel and pray with people while doing so changes eternities! It was such a blessing to be able to be a very small part of the work these good folks did.

The distribution took place at a rehab center. By the time we arrived, the crew had already unloaded the equipment from the truck. (They'd worked with local organizations and churches months ahead of time to identify who needed what kind of equipment, and had contacted those people ahead of time.) We started by taking the shrinkwrap off the chairs and sorting them in the central courtyard area.

This is where Rebecca disappeared with a volunteer leader to go help with intake. The people had started to come - many from miles and miles away - to receive a new chair! Next up, the organizers started the day with prayer for everyone and instructions for how the distribution would go. That's when things got busy inside!

The crew was simply amazing. Most (I believe) were physical therapists, nurses, doctors, etc. They were so very skillful in helping fit each chair to each person. This was no easy task, since they only had the tools and equipment they brought with them. At one point, someone needed an adjustment made to the table affixed to a chair, but there was no extra wood. Solution? The walkway/ramp between the courtyard and room we were in would work! Many of the fits required an hour or more of work to customize the chair. They were gluing foam, cutting it to the right angle with electric knives, cutting off metal parts, boring holes, adding bolts, screwing on safety straps, and so much more. It was such an honor to see their focus and dedication to ensuring that each person got the perfect chair.

I can't tell you how many people cried that day to receive their first chair, or their mother's first chair, or their child's first chair, and to have it be such a perfect fit and blessing.

Rachel worked with the team that fit chairs for kids. She got to see families whose backstories are unimaginable for us. In her typical, friendly way, she put both children and parents at ease, and helped the team ensure that each family's needs were being met. She had parents thank her. Hug her. Show her photos on their phones of their family vacations. It was a wonderful experience. The best part was being able to pray with the families before they left. That Spanish was definitely coming in handy!

The team I worked with mostly assisted adults. The woman below is 42 years old. She's the oldest of 6 kids, ad has been unable to walk or speak since she was around 15 years old. The family used to have medicine to help with her seizures, but the doctor they were seeing no longer had access to it. She lives with her mother in an outlying town about 30 minutes from Xela. She's never had a chair, and has always had to be carried everywhere. She was hard to fit, but after about an hour and a half of work, the team had the perfect chair for her. This whole family's life has changed. Mom (and the neighbors who came to help) were so grateful, and praised God with us for this gift.

The very few people who came with chairs were in desperate need of new ones. Take a look at what was left behind. These chairs, even in as rough of shape as they are in, will be taken to a rehab facility here in Guatemala, and be made functional again to bless someone else in the future.

Right before the people left in their new chairs, they stopped and got prayed for - each family - by a local pastor. I'm praising God for the divine connections and life changes that I know were made here.

As people caught buses back to their homes (including this one, which had been hired to transport people to and from a local town), there were a whole lot more smiles, a whole lot more opportunities, and a whole lot more chairs along for the ride!

Be Who You Are

And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.                        - 1 Corinthians 12:28 NASB

This is a blog I have been wanting to write for a while - one that I think is very true, but may bother some people.

I have now been in ministry as a missionary for two years.  While I am just beginning, there are some things I feel I can speak on with some authority.

I ran into many people this summer when we were back who basically feel that ministry is only preaching and teaching.  If you are not preaching and teaching, you are not in ministry or not a "real missionary."  This was actually said to me by someone who was attending a Bible college. While talking to this person about visiting us in Guatemala, we discussed the things that could be done at our Bible school, and the final option was teaching. To this the person said, "...like a real missionary."

Under this limited definition of a missionary, I am not a missionary.

I am horrible at street evangelism.  I don't preach, and have no plans of starting a church.

I have taught a couple of times at the Bible Institute, and even though I enjoyed it, I would not say I am the best teacher there.

So, what do I do?  I am a minister of helps. I do whatever needs to be done.  I make up outlines to give out in classes. I do the recordings and make CDs of teachings for the students. I work with students when they are paying their tuition and with other needs.  I also do manual labor - mowing grass, doing security, painting, cleaning, helping with electrical work, gardening.  There are a lot of other things I do, but this is a small list.

My talents do not work toward teaching and preaching.  Does this make me less of a missionary? No. If I did not contribute my gifts, then our teachers would have to pick that work up, and that would be disastrous.

So, what do we need on the mission field? We need secretaries, accountants, lawyers, maintenance workers, day care providers, teachers, leaders, etc.

What am I trying to say is if you are feeling called to ministry, go.  Look for a place that needs your specific talents and plug in.

How many people don't come to the mission field because they see their gift as unimportant? 
How many don't use their gifts in their churches?
How many don't use their gifts at home or in their communities?

Think of a church family or ministry where every person's gifts were being used and appreciated as much as all the other gifts -  that could change the world!

Andrea's Turn - Two Years Later

Ok - now it's my (Andrea's) turn to look back at my predictions and chime in on whether or not they came true. This was a really fun exercise for me, especially because of the way God has maneuvered things within the past six months. This would have been a much different post had it been after a year or a year and a half instead of two years. He is soooooooooooo good to us! :) As with Mark's post, the original post is in regular type, and my current response is in parenthesis and italics.


1.) Family and friends (obviously) -I have been blessed beyond what anyone deserves when it comes to friends and family. It will be really, really, really, really hard to not be able to pick up the phone or hop in the car whenever I want to connect with my favorite people. (Yep. This is still number one. It's still hard. It never gets easier, though we are finding our groove little by little, and technology sure helps a lot.)

2.) Home schooling - I am thrilled that I'm going to get to work at a Christian school, and that my children will be able to attend there, as well. But, home schooling has a been a part of my identity personally, professionally, politically, socially, and academically for more than a dozen years now. In many ways, it has shaped who I am, who my children are, and how we are known by others. It will be VERY strange to not be involved with home schooling for this season of our lives. (I DID miss this. Like, a LOT!!! When things were really, really tough over Christmas break, and we were praying about what we should be doing with our lives, Mark asked me, "If you could do anything, what would you do?" All I wanted was to stay in Guatemala, but to be able to home school again. That looked like an impossibility at the time. Yet, here we are, starting our family's 10th year of home schooling, having even more opportunities to minister here, and loving every minute of it!)

3.) Sleeping in - I cringe to admit that I almost put this as number 2 (or 1), but it is kind of a big deal to me. I like sleep. A lot. I've never been a good early riser, and I'm going to have to be up, dressed, fed, and AT WORK by 7:30. In the morning!!! I know God will help me with this, but it is going to be a big adjustment. Prayers are appreciated. (This was not as hard for me as I was afraid it might be. Granted, I never got to the place of liking having to leave the house by 7:10, but it wasn't as much of a problem as I thought it would be. That being said, I am loving not having to be up so early these days!)

4.) Our church - It kind of makes me cry a little on the inside every time I think about having to leave our church. It's really wonderful. We've grown and learned so much there, and have been so welcomed and embraced by its members. Our children, especially, have loved their precious time here. I know we will find a new church, but I have a feeling that FFCC will always be home. (I miss our church a lot. That's true. But, we've also found a great groove here that we wouldn't otherwise have discovered. We go to a really wonderful, local church every other Sunday. On the other Sundays, we have our own service at home. Everyone has a part to play. We worship. We pray. We hear [or give] a message. It has been a really sweet time of growth for our family, and I'm glad we have it.)

5.) A flexible schedule - I've never worked a full-time job. Ever. I mean, I've ended up working part time jobs that were really more than 40 hours a week, but I've always been able to set my own hours and be flexible, which I've loved. It's allowed me to help out, volunteer, tackle projects, etc... I am really going to miss that. (Yes. I missed this, too! I was at school for nine hours a day most weekdays, and then had two or more hours of work at home afterward. It felt like we never had time to do anything. Even scheduling eye appointments was tough, let alone having time to foster relationships! I much prefer the flexibility that home schooling affords us, both personally, and from a ministry standpoint.)

6.) HyVee - For real. I love my local grocery store. They're the best chain foodstore in the world, in my opinion. I love their reliability, their quality, their friendliness, and their prices. (Oh, and the coupons!) As a frugal home maker with a family who loves to eat, they're kind of like a second home to me. Rarely a week goes by that I don't visit at least once. I know I'll come to love the market place, but I will seriously miss my HyVee. (I still miss HyVee! We do have a grocery store we go to weekly to do our shopping, but it's not the same. Nothing will ever be the same as HyVee. That being said, since I've been able to be home, I've had the chance to walk to the huge outdoor market area to do my shopping as well, and it's really a sight to behold. I love the colors, sounds, smells [mostly] and overall richness of the market.)

7.) Solitude - What can I say? I like to be alone. I don't think I'll have a lot of alone time in Xela. For one thing, we will be so much busier, and there are so many more people in the town. But, I also won't be able to send my kids to the park alone, or leave them at home to go do a bit of shopping or take a walk. (This was hard the first two years, but is getting better now. I still can't send the girls outside to play by themselves [which all of us miss!], but at least I can leave them home alone briefly so I can run an errand or go to the store. Mostly, though, I'm learning to need less solitude, and that's probably a good thing in the long run.)

8.) Things being easy - I am anticipating that stuff (mostly everything) will be harder in Guatemala. You know, like having to wash fruits and veggies in bleach water and then rinse them in bottled water before you eat them. Or not being able to just run down to the local store and know for sure that you'll be able to find what you're looking for. Or driving with the expectation that people around you are going to follow the laws and stay in their own lanes and off your bumper. Stuff like that. (Nothing is easy here. You stand in line for an hour sometimes to pay your electric bill. Traffic is insane. They often shut all the main roads in town down for marathons. You can't go to one store to find everything, so you have to know about and shop at dozens of different stores. Our power goes out frequently. If we don't remember to fill our water filter at night, we won't have water to drink the next day. The list goes on and on and on. I do miss life being easier, but the challenges here have become normal, and don't really bother me much any more.)

9.) Government that works (mostly) - I can certainly understand why people are up in arms about our governments (local all the way up to federal) being bloated, top-heavy, out of touch, ineffective, wasteful, unconstitutional, etc... But, they're still waaaaaaaaaaaaay better than what they've got in Guatemala. I'm not looking forward to having police officers looking for bribes, and having to negotiate my way around a very corrupt system. (Yes. This is frustrating. We never know how much we'll have to pay in taxes on items we bring into the country. Or even IF we'll have to pay, for that matter. Registering a vehicle is a process that can take days of standing in lines at different offices. We know people who are involved in legal matters right now, and it feels like all you can do is pray, because you never know if things are going to work right. Worst of all, that mentality seeps into non-government interactions, too, so people just always act in a fair, just, upright way in their daily lives and business dealings, either. It's frustrating.)

10.) Fall and Spring - I do love the changing of the seasons. At least, these seasons. I'm still pretty sure I'm not going to miss winter. At all. Ever. (Nope. Don't miss winter. :) In fact, I don't really miss spring or fall that much either, come to think of it.)

11.) Being an expert at the local language - I take a lot of pride (more than I should, I know) in being able to use the English language correctly. It is really, really going to be hard to butcher the local language, and to have to be on the receiving end of correction about grammar, pronunciation, etc... <sigh> (This is still painful for me. Though my Spanish is now at a level that I feel comfortable with most daily interactions, I vacillate between wanting to put in the work it would take to truly become an expert, and being lazy and satisfied with the level I am currently at. I'll keep you posted about how that eventually shakes out...)

12.) Wide, open spaces - I love the mountains, but I think I will end up longing for the flat, expansive cornfields of Iowa, where the only thing bigger than the vista ahead of you is the blue sky above. (I loved every moment of being in Iowa this summer, but I really love the mountains here. I am surprised at how much they feel like home to me. I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing the clouds falling over a forested mountainside. This terrain suits me a lot more than I expected it would.) 

13.) The familiar - You know, like intersections that remind me that I'm close to home. My favorite blanket when we're watching TV. My 'go-to' knife and cutting board in the kitchen. All those thousands of little things that make daily life so comfortable, even if you don't think about them... I know we'll eventually become familiar with our new surroundings, but the transition will be challenging. (I guess it doesn't take too long to regain that. We didn't feel like anything was familiar for the first year or so, but now we all have our favorite TV blankets, go-to knives and cutting boards, etc. once again. Sure, I still have things that I miss from before, but mostly we feel like life here is familiar now. Who knew that would be so easy to replicate!)

14.) Pulling our own weight financially - Words can't express how grateful we are for our financial supporters. And, I know it's absolutely Biblical and appropriate to be supported by others while sharing the gospel, and that our supporters will be immeasurably blessed because of their giving. Still, it's a hard thing to accept sometimes. (This is still hard, but in a different way than I expected. I don't ever want one of our financial supporters to think that we don't appreciate what they provide for us, or that we're not using our resources well, so I get nervous even talking about anything that might have to do with money. Will people think we are eating too extravagantly if we share that we got pizza to celebrate a milestone? Will they be unhappy to know that we're thinking about moving to a house that's a slightly more expensive, but much safer and more comfortable? In some ways, it feels like we're responsible for answering to a whole lot of people for our every expenditure, even though I know that's probably self-imposed. On the other hand, having to depend on God for our everything has been really liberating. I think it has helped us have a MUCH more Biblical understanding of money and its place in our lives than we ever had before.)

15.) The life we might have had - I don't think I'll ever regret doing mission work, but the fact that we have opted out of so much - including the 'normal' American life - will forever alter our future. I don't grieve over who we'll never end up being, or what we'll never end up doing or achieving because we're moving to Guatemala. But, I do have to take a moment to acknowledge that our future is going to be different because of this choice.  It's at least worth pondering... (This still pops into my head periodically. If we wouldn't have moved to Guatemala, right now we'd be ______________. I think it's especially hard for my girls, because their lives here look very different from what they would in the States, and it's easier to see what you don't have than to really be able to appreciate the uniqueness of what you do have. This is challenging for our oldest, as she's starting to think about going to college. There are definitely things she doesn't have here, but what she does have more than makes up for it. It's just, well, different. I guess that's the only way to sum this up. It's not worse. Probably better. But, most definitely different.) 

Guess I was better at making some predictions than others, huh? All in all, though I miss things from the States and our old life, I really wouldn't trade this for anything right now. I guess that's one of the good things about following God - He not only makes you willing and able, but excited to do the things He puts before you. So grateful for His goodness in our lives!

Things I Will (Do) Miss Two Years Later

Two years ago I wrote a blog discussing the things I would miss most about the United States.  I promised myself I wouldn't read it for two years, and then see if I agreed with it after that.  Well, it has been two years, and I have reread the post I wrote. Below, I've kept my original thoughts and placed my current thoughts in italics.  It has been an interesting two years!

1. Talking to my Dad – I consider my Dad one of my best friends. It will be hard to not be able to pick up the phone and call whenever I want.  (I do miss my Dad a lot, but we have cell phones down here, and I use my limited minutes to call my Dad once a week.  This is not nearly enough, but it's something.)

2. Chinese buffets – I am guessing that there are no Chinese buffets in Guatemala. At least, not like we have here.  (There are no Chinese Buffets that I have found.  Though I miss them, my taste buds and the way I eat have changed.  Buffets are now a special treat we get when we are home, rather then a once a month feast, and I am good with that.)

3. English – I think our language it is very nice, I will miss hearing it every day.  More than missing the sound of English is speaking it.  (My Spanish has picked up, but sometimes I make mistakes or even completely misunderstand what someone says. Sometimes I don't understand something at all.  This has been my biggest challenge living down here.)

4. Seasons – I don’t think I’ll miss winter, but I will miss the rest that comes when we switch from summer to fall. I think I will miss that.  (I do miss it a little, especially when people put up fall pictures, but I don't miss it that much.)

5. Changing hours – In Guatemala there is pretty much a 12 hour day every day of the year. The long summers days turning to short fall days, and then getting longer again - I will miss that.    (This is one I thought would be difficult, but it has not been at all.  The regularity of the hours is quite nice.  When we go back to the states it is actually hard to get used to the different  times of sunset.)

6. My house – I love our current house. It is big enough. It is laid out almost perfectly. The neighbors are nice. The yard is wonderful, and I will miss our house.  (While I loved our house and community in Atlantic, the adventure of living somewhere else has more than made up for this lost feeling.  I still walk through my house here in Guatemala sometimes and  think, 'How did I get here?')

7. My job – I really like my job. And, though I will have a job down there, it will not have the same feel or regularity of my job here. It also won't be the same thing I have been doing for the last eleven years.  (This one is one I don't miss at all.  Even though I loved my job, it is fun to be doing something different.  My job here can be very difficult sometimes, but it is very rewarding and challenging in ways that are completely different, and I am enjoying the change.)

8. Tap water – Everywhere in the United States you can turn on the tap, take a big drink, and trust you will not get sick. You can’t even trust the water in the international airport in Guatemala.  (No doubt, I miss turning on the tap and getting a big drink of water.)

9. Snow – Fine I admit it, there is nothing more beautiful than newly fallen snow. Let’s never talk about it again.  (Nope, not at all.  Snow is cold. I like not worrying about the cold.)

10. Church – I have been completely blessed to have been in awesome churches my entire life.  From what I saw, the churches there are not as dynamic as the ones here. I suppose that is part of why we are going, to share what we know about church.  (Definitely miss our church.  Even though I can keep up on podcasts, there is nothing like worshiping with other like-minded believers.  Though a move back to Iowa would involve snow [see above], our church would be one thing that could draw us back.)

11. Baseball – I love going to night games, I have found almost every one of them to be a magical experience the last 10 years. (I miss them, but not as much as I thought.)

12. NASCAR – This is new - going to races is something I just started doing five years ago, and I will miss the sound of NASCAR.  (See above about baseball.)

13. Iowa farm fields – This shows my Iowa roots. I love driving by endless miles of corn fields, especially when they are still green.  (Luckily, the scenery here in Guatemala is beautiful.  Though not the same as Iowa, it has its own allure.)

14. Debit Cards Use – I know there are credit cards down there, but much of the business is cash, and I don’t normally carry cash on me. That will be a change.  (I have actually enjoyed going back to a more cash-based system.  If fact, when we were back in the states this summer I still tried to pay for most things in cash.)

15. Ease – Everything is easy in the United States. I believe life will be much more difficult down there.  (There is no doubt about it - I miss this one.  Life is easier in the United States. A friend of mine says the U.S. is Disney World compared to everywhere else in the world.  There is nothing like the ease, convenience, and abundance of the U.S.)

I guess I do miss many things about the United States. The good part, though, is that what we are doing here makes up for the things I miss.  I don't think about a lot of these that much because I am to busy doing the other things we are involved in.  Maybe someday I will return to the U.S., and at that point I will be writing a blog about the things I miss from Guatemala.  Only time will tell.