Give and Take

 We have been on the road (hence the reason our blog is coming out a little later than normal). It means we’ve seen windows into lots of different communities and different local cultures and ways of living—all in the US, but different. We are struck by the give and take of every place. Every place has something that strikes us as nice or beautiful or convenient, and every place has things that strike us as hard or frustrating or heavy. At the same time we’ve seen people react to our lives on the islands— often struck by the give or the take of our lives.

Our kids at pond in Ohio

“Do you ever wonder, ‘how is this my life!?’” A friend.
“I don’t know how you do it!” A new acquaintance.
When our friend made this comment we were talking about everyday (seemly mundane) parts of our life on the islands, so her sentiment didn’t really resonate with us. We don’t really marvel at our life on the islands regularly because it has become our normal.  Live anywhere or under any conditions long enough and it begins to feel routine and loses that feeling of being extreme or unbelievable. Whether it is good things like eating mangoes and lychees or seeing bats fly through the sky or the not so nice things like showering from a bucket or sleeping in the humidity through a power cut. Sometimes when we are getting bogged down in the everyday life and struggles, suddenly the natural beauty of the islands will hit us, “We live on a tropical island!”, those are nice reminders of the gifts this life brings.

“My kids have never been to all those places and we live in the US.” A friend.
“When I grow up, I’m not doing this.” Our daughter in regard to traveling around and camping.
Part of our life that sometimes strikes people is actually these times in the US. We leave our normal, island life for months, traveling from place to place. Some have pity in their eyes when they hear how many hours our family is stuck in cars or airplanes. As our kids get older, the traveling is easier because they can help with bags and packing, but it is also harder to be cramped together, and it wears on them to be shuttled around to lots of places where they don’t know people well and not having the stability of routines or their own bed or space. Others are envious at how much we are able to travel, to see the country and the world. We are blessed. We have gone to National Parks and saw fireworks from the Mall in DC! It is definitely a give and take.

Camping while on the road

“Wow!” Including big eyes and then stunned silence. Lots of people.
This is the reaction we often get when we tell people that our daughter will be going to boarding school in mainland Africa this coming year. Some have said they didn’t know boarding schools were a thing that still existed. We admit it would never have been on our radar for our kids. The give for this one is heavy.  But there are big takes as well.  She will be going to a school with lots of kids a lot like her—who can relate to her cross-cultural upbringing.  She will be gaining opportunities impossible to give her on the islands and often in even in America. She will be poured into by other wise and faithful adults who can be good influences when she’s at an age to neglect the influence of her parents.  But she will be away from us for three months and with us for one.  There will be lots of give and take.

Getting to walk a dog!

“When I grow up, this is the kind of house I want.” Our son.
We were stopping for a short stay with friends as part of our road trip this past week. It had been several years, but our kids clicked easily and were having a blast together. Our son’s comment was laced with longing and present contentedness. He liked it here. It echoed some of my own feelings, the house and their lifestyle and standard of living had already made me think, “This is how we would be living if we lived in the US.” I have these thoughts and am quick to check myself lest it lead to discontentment. As I said every place has its give and take. The grass can always seem greener. Our son wants a yard, a dog and a basement (all things we don’t have on
the islands), but that doesn’t mean he resents living on the islands.  He tells us sometimes about the things he misses there too.  We can celebrate both and be content and happy with where God has called us with all the gifts and opportunities for growth it presents.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We had a nice time visiting in Ohio this past weekend— we were graciously welcomed and were happy with the connections and reconnections we were able to make. Last week we rejoiced at three new women in one family making decisions, yet another woman from the same family has made a decision and another young woman is close! Rejoice and pray for this family of women! May they grow together in all ways! After a week of waiting (from a positive COVID test) the procedure was able to go forward for our colleague’s baby girl and went well. They hope to travel back to the islands soon, assuming all the needed paperwork comes through.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
We have a couple more long days with lots of driving ahead of us this week— pray that we would keep in good spirits (especially the kids in the back seat), that we’d be safe on the roads, and that the long drives wouldn’t aggravate Megan’s back.  Our teammates are busy going to weddings and one still has family members visiting her from the US.  Pray that these special times in community will result in lots of deeper relationships and meaningful friendships that lead to life and hope.  Keep praying for our sister and her daughter who have been driven out of their family home.  We have not had any recent updates, but we continue to pray for their well being, good-spirits and strong influence among their family and community.  Pray for all these new sisters who will need much mentoring and encouragement as they embark into new lives full of grace, hope and peace.