This is a hard one to write. We are coming off of one of the hardest months we have ever had overseas... one of the hardest in our life. But God is still good and I have much I can find to be thankful for.
Disneyland. Hard to believe it was just this January we were at Disneyland with the little boys and Brant’s parents. What a magical day and beautiful memories. We still talk about it regularly.
Our teammates. I love our tribal teammates. I am so, so thankful for them. We have been blessed and challenged and laughed and cried together. The boys’ best friends are our teammates’ kiddos and they play wonderfully together. We thank the Lord all the time for the team He has given us.
Noise ordinance laws and sealed houses in the States. Not sure why they need noise laws in a place where all the houses have glass windows and insulation, but I am thankful I got to grow up in such a place.
A ministry we are good at. We started this year very uncertain of what our future would hold. While it certainly has not turned out like we planned, the Lord has given us a ministry where we can use our gifts and serve Him. We know that is a gift.
My trip in October. I got to go off-island to a ladies missionary retreat. What a gift! It was such an amazing time - great food, fun times with friends, relaxing spa treatments and great times to study the Word and pray with other ladies serving the Lord in our corner of the globe. Wow, what a treat.
The ability to see fruit from our work. I have seen very clearly how the Lord has used us in certain situations this year to bring glory to Himself, serve other people or explain the Truth of Scripture to others around us. Has been as if God has said very clearly “This is just where I want you for just this moment” and I am thankful for that grace He has given us.
Truths from the Word that the Lord is teaching me. Again and again the Lord has very clearly spoken Truth from His Word to my heart this year. Time after time I have received an email from a friend with encouraging verses that I had just read the day before. Or a sermon or song confirming what I’ve been studying in my Bible study. There have been times in my life when I feel like God is actively teaching and speaking into my life and this year has been one of those.
Friends. When Elijah was so sick earlier this year, I had friends I could email or text and get an instant reply “I am here. I am praying.” I am so blessed with friends around the world and so thankful for the support group the Lord has given me.
Soccer. This spring, during our stressful re-acclimation to life here, a friend suggested I start playing soccer with the missionary ladies’ intramural group. I have not played soccer since college.... and I don’t know that you can count 2 years of bench sitting as really playing on my college team. :) But I have LOVED playing every Wednesday morning here. Such great exercise and stress relief and great fun being with all the other moms who used to play soccer in college. :)
Fast internet. We switched internet to a new 3G cell thing... you know, that’s supposed to be for all the iPhones and smart phones. But no one here uses that kind of phone service, so we have really fast (relatively!) internet for a quarter of the price of the dial-up that’s offered for regular internet usage. We can actually almost stream a YouTube clip in real time.
Increased support. Our last term we were scraping to get by.... as in counting each penny and not having 5 dollars extra in a month. Our support has gone up a bit and I feel like we can breathe and actually occasionally go out to eat. And we bought a water heater for our shower! Extravagance. :)
Peace with the culture. I see new missionary ladies come every year and go through such horrible culture shock. I used to be one of them. I’m not now. I am so, so thankful. Yes, I have awful “I hate this culture” days (like with the music!) but for the most part, we are acclimated and used to all the craziness around us. It doesn’t throw me off kilter to see a guy hunting a pig in my backyard or naked kid running down the road. I can handle the heat (better!) and all the power outages without feeling helpless. I’m thankful to the Lord for bringing us through that transition time.
The new mall. While we were in the States, they built a new mall in the big town two hours’ from us. There’s a frozen yogurt shop and a bakery and a coffee shop. There’s a sporting goods store that actually carries real American brands like Speedo and Crocs and Nike. There’s a department store that occasionally carries import kids’ toys. There’s a grocery store that is a tad bit like a SuperWalmart. And.... there’s a movie theater. The theater actually just opened two weeks ago, and we haven’t gone to see a movie yet, but.... BUT.... there is the opportunity to. Someday we could go see a movie if we wanted to. It makes life so much easier to just have the knowledge that you CAN do something. :) Thankful that civilization is coming to our corner of the globe.
Disneyland. Hard to believe it was just this January we were at Disneyland with the little boys and Brant’s parents. What a magical day and beautiful memories. We still talk about it regularly.
Our teammates. I love our tribal teammates. I am so, so thankful for them. We have been blessed and challenged and laughed and cried together. The boys’ best friends are our teammates’ kiddos and they play wonderfully together. We thank the Lord all the time for the team He has given us.
Noise ordinance laws and sealed houses in the States. Not sure why they need noise laws in a place where all the houses have glass windows and insulation, but I am thankful I got to grow up in such a place.
A ministry we are good at. We started this year very uncertain of what our future would hold. While it certainly has not turned out like we planned, the Lord has given us a ministry where we can use our gifts and serve Him. We know that is a gift.
My trip in October. I got to go off-island to a ladies missionary retreat. What a gift! It was such an amazing time - great food, fun times with friends, relaxing spa treatments and great times to study the Word and pray with other ladies serving the Lord in our corner of the globe. Wow, what a treat.
The ability to see fruit from our work. I have seen very clearly how the Lord has used us in certain situations this year to bring glory to Himself, serve other people or explain the Truth of Scripture to others around us. Has been as if God has said very clearly “This is just where I want you for just this moment” and I am thankful for that grace He has given us.
Truths from the Word that the Lord is teaching me. Again and again the Lord has very clearly spoken Truth from His Word to my heart this year. Time after time I have received an email from a friend with encouraging verses that I had just read the day before. Or a sermon or song confirming what I’ve been studying in my Bible study. There have been times in my life when I feel like God is actively teaching and speaking into my life and this year has been one of those.
Friends. When Elijah was so sick earlier this year, I had friends I could email or text and get an instant reply “I am here. I am praying.” I am so blessed with friends around the world and so thankful for the support group the Lord has given me.
Soccer. This spring, during our stressful re-acclimation to life here, a friend suggested I start playing soccer with the missionary ladies’ intramural group. I have not played soccer since college.... and I don’t know that you can count 2 years of bench sitting as really playing on my college team. :) But I have LOVED playing every Wednesday morning here. Such great exercise and stress relief and great fun being with all the other moms who used to play soccer in college. :)
Fast internet. We switched internet to a new 3G cell thing... you know, that’s supposed to be for all the iPhones and smart phones. But no one here uses that kind of phone service, so we have really fast (relatively!) internet for a quarter of the price of the dial-up that’s offered for regular internet usage. We can actually almost stream a YouTube clip in real time.
Increased support. Our last term we were scraping to get by.... as in counting each penny and not having 5 dollars extra in a month. Our support has gone up a bit and I feel like we can breathe and actually occasionally go out to eat. And we bought a water heater for our shower! Extravagance. :)
Peace with the culture. I see new missionary ladies come every year and go through such horrible culture shock. I used to be one of them. I’m not now. I am so, so thankful. Yes, I have awful “I hate this culture” days (like with the music!) but for the most part, we are acclimated and used to all the craziness around us. It doesn’t throw me off kilter to see a guy hunting a pig in my backyard or naked kid running down the road. I can handle the heat (better!) and all the power outages without feeling helpless. I’m thankful to the Lord for bringing us through that transition time.
The new mall. While we were in the States, they built a new mall in the big town two hours’ from us. There’s a frozen yogurt shop and a bakery and a coffee shop. There’s a sporting goods store that actually carries real American brands like Speedo and Crocs and Nike. There’s a department store that occasionally carries import kids’ toys. There’s a grocery store that is a tad bit like a SuperWalmart. And.... there’s a movie theater. The theater actually just opened two weeks ago, and we haven’t gone to see a movie yet, but.... BUT.... there is the opportunity to. Someday we could go see a movie if we wanted to. It makes life so much easier to just have the knowledge that you CAN do something. :) Thankful that civilization is coming to our corner of the globe.
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