The Gift of Being Known

A couple of weeks ago I travelled to the US to care for my dad following an extensive surgery he had had to remove over 40 cancerous tumors from his body.  While I was there, I ended up “living” in the hospital with him for a week, in Chicago where I knew no one.  For those 7 days, essentially the only times I left his hospital room were to go down to the hospital cafeteria for meals. 

This was obviously a very difficult time, first and foremost for my dad, but for me as well.  I was walking (and sleeping!) alongside my dad through a very vulnerable time of a near-death experience, unexpected complication after complication, disappointment, and an uncertain future.  I felt very alone.  My only connection with the outside world was desperate Facebook messages to family and friends.  

I realized just how alone I felt when one day I was riding the elevator to the cafeteria when the doors opened and a group of people walked on. I physically craved for one of them to say “Oh, hi, Ruth!” That’s all I needed—not someone to process with, or to share the overwhelming responsibility with—I just wanted someone to recognize me and know me—to see me. 

The contrast I felt upon my arrival back home was amazing.  I was inundated with smiles of recognition, people telling me how glad they were that I was back and how much they had missed me, hugs, and questions about how I was holding up. This stark contrast made me realize a few things:

First of all, I am so thankful for the deeply-caring community that I am a part of. 

Secondly, I never want to be in the hospital in a place where I don’t know anyone.

And most importantly, I realized that being known is a gift.  It is a gift that I receive ALL THE TIME.  It makes me feel secure, loved, and not alone.

And for as often and as easily as I receive the gift of bring known, I want to be giving it. Sadly, I often “minister” to people without knowing them.  I teach a well-prepared lesson to my pregnant women, but I don’t stick around after the class to ask, “How are you doing?” I successfully struggle though a Bible lesson and leading a craft for a crowd of kids and teens at House of Hope, but I only know a handful of their names.  My temptation is to hide behind the planning and details, the checkmark on my to-do list. 

I hope if you are reading this that you can hold me accountable to giving the gift that I so deeply desire—of knowing and being known.  Pray that I can have the courage to change my priorities and set aside the seemingly all-important details and tasks and instead focus on the definitely all-important people that God has placed in my life. 

26 pictures, not black and white, very short explanation

It has been a out-of-the-ordinary, busy, interesting few weeks. Ministry and teaching. Tesoros de Dios staff retreat in San Juan del Sur. Ultimate Frisbee tournament in Granada. Ruth in the US with her dad, who is doing better but still in the hospital after his surgery. . .please continue to pray for him! We know pics speak louder (and are often more interesting) than words. Here are some of the things we saw over the last few weeks.

First accident in Nicaragua

One of our worst fears living in Nicaragua was realized today. We were heading down from our house to the school on the backroad affectionately known as the "cow trail," a narrow road paved with blocks that weaves through a few small neighborhoods before spitting you out on the highway near the school. Yes, sometimes there are cows on the road. Always dogs, lots of pedestrians, cars, bikes, motorcycles, chickens, horses, the local lady that likely has untreated schizophrenia that likes to occasionally hit cars with a stick she always carries. Ruth was heading to the school to play ultimate frisbee (a Sunday afternoon tradition that I've recently abandoned), and I was heading to work in my classroom (a Sunday afternoon tradition that I've recently adopted). Our kids were going to run around and play with friends on the school campus.

The kids and I were singing "Baa Baa Black Sheep" acapella for some reason as I was going around a corner, and suddenly a motorcycle carrying a driver and a passenger came around the curve heading the opposite direction in the middle of the already-narrow road. I swerved to the right, and he swerved to his right. . .but there was still a loud thud and scrape as he slid along the driver side of the van. I stopped the van as quickly as I could, and while braking watched the motorcycle swerving and tilting crazily in my rearview mirror. . but he managed to stay upright and stop. I may have said a bad word or two.

I ran out to make sure he and the passenger were okay. They both were limping a bit, and one of them was nursing his hand and wrist. The passenger had been carrying his helmet in his hand by his leg, which was now on the ground completely smashed into bits. It is a law to wear helmets while on a motorcycles here (both drivers and passengers) but many folks just carry them instead. The helmet obviously had created a barrier between the car and the motorcycle (and did the damage to our car), and I believe it helped protect us both from more harm. If they had fallen it would probably be a different story. . .

You can see the scrape marks; I think they are all from the helmet.

The helmet that (thankfully) was not on the head, but near his leg

Hubcap cover thing a little damaged, too, probably from the footpegs of the motorcycle.

Praising God for this kind of "body damage" and not the other "body damage"

We talked a bit and I asked if they were okay, and the men hinted that they didn't want to call the police. They did want money and I felt like he and his passenger were trying to figure out the best route of action that they should take in this situation. I could smell alcohol on the driver's' breath. I asked him if he had been drinking, which I suppose is a silly question to ask if you want an honest answer. I decided to call the lawyer I have on speed dial (I never had called him before, but it is basically protocol here in the event of an accident. It is also the rule NOT to move your vehicle in case of an accident even if you are blocking traffic).

Many people from the houses along the road came out to watch, talk, and give their input. . . probably around 30 or so people were all around. A few folks told us that they knew the men, and said they saw everything and it was certainly the motorcycle who was at fault. If we hadn't swerved, they said, they would've been killed. (I shudder to think about that. Like physically shudder). As I hung up with the lawyer, who said he would be on his way, Ruth told me that the motorcycle driver and passenger had hopped on their bike and had taken off. I called the lawyer back, who recommended just leaving at this point if no one was injured and if the damage to our car wasn't too serious.

So we drove away. Shaken. A little scared. And SO thankful. Thankful that the men were okay enough to flee the scene. Thankful that I'm not in jail (protocol for any accident that involves an injury). Thankful for witnesses who were ready to speak truth. Thankful for God's protection today and everyday. One inch would've been a different outcome. . .one second, a different story, too. . .God is in those inches and seconds and today we praise God for his protection.

Fiestas Patrias 2017!

It's hard to describe the festivity surrounding Fiestas Patrias--the celebration of Nicaragua's "Independence Day" each year on September 14 and 15. So rather than try to describe the event in words, here are some pictures and videos from Nicaragua Christian Academy's celebration this past Wednesday. A lot (though not all!) of the photo credits go to NCA photographers. . .we lifted them from NCA's Facebook page. Enjoy!

The morning of Fiestas Patrias always takes some extra time to get ready and for the family picture session! This year, Ruth learned how to cut Andrew's old (though clean) socks to create instant hair buns for the girls. 

The men from the annual "Teacher Dance"

Watch the infamous teacher dance by clicking here.

The whole teacher crew. . .

You can see Mae's class dancing by clicking here. 

Can you spy the Ippel?

 Mae and her classmates memorized quite a long poem in Spanish. Check it out here.

Mae's class watching high school presentations. 

The Homeroom Mom Dance--first annual event! Ruth probably practiced more than any other family member to get ready for this big day:)

 See Ruth and the other homeroom moms killin' it by clicking here. 

Watch Charlotte and her kinder friends singing here!

In addition to dancing, each classroom prepares a drama regarding Nicaraguan history and culture to share with parents and other grade levels. Henry was a colonizer from Spain. 

See Henry and his classmates presenting here. They had a popular presentation because they handed out candy afterwards. 

We hope you enjoyed the videos and pictures! The only better way to experience is to come down and see the events for yourself:) Happy Independence Day, Nicaragua!

The Pros and Cons of Staying for the Summer

We just spent our first summer here in Nicaragua.  This was the first time in four years that we did not travel back to the US for June and July.  There were several reasons for this choice… Andrew had a class that he needed to attend, we had travelled to the US for Christmas, and we had visitors who were excited to come see us in the summer months are some of the main ones.  

I was a little nervous about staying here, mostly because I have a severe case of FOMO (fear of missing out) and hated to think of all the family and friends we were missing out on seeing, and all of the fun things they were doing without us.  Now that the summer is done, though, I’m glad we stayed.  There are certainly pros and cons to staying, and I’ve listed some of them below in case you are wondering what they are (listed in no particular order):

PROS:

• We were able to continue in some of our ministries throughout the summer (Andrew at Tesoros de Dios, and Ruth at House of Hope). 

Relay Day at House of Hope

• We didn’t gain the 10 pounds that we normally gain in the US every summer.

• We were able to create a summer/more relaxed routine for our family, including sending our kids to summer camp at NCA.

Our family Summer Plan

• We had our neighborhood to ourselves. We did miss having our neighbors around, but is was also nice to be able to walk outside in our PJs and let the monkey run free.

• We were able to explore more of the beautiful country we live in, and our neighboring country, Costa Rica.

Family jump at Laguna de Apoyo

Exploring Somoto Canyon with friends

Exploring Costa Rica with Grandma and Grandpa

• We didn’t have to figure out borrowing a car for the summer.

• We didn’t have to figure out 12 places to stay as we travelled across the country—we got to sleep in our own beds!

• Andrew was able to prepare for the upcoming school year with a more relaxed timeline. 

• We didn’t have to try to buy everything we need for a year and fit it into 5 50-pound suitcases.

• We didn’t have to worry about everything in our house growing mold.

• We didn’t have to find someone to watch our monkey, Dexter.

• We didn’t have to stand up in front of churches, though we did miss worshiping and fellowshipping with our home churches in the US.

.

CONS:

• We ended up pet-sitting for all of our friends who did go back to the US for the summer (this could maaaaaaayyyyyybbbbbeeee be listed in the PRO section as well, since our kids did enjoy having extra pets around).

Charlotte and her new BFF, Buddie

• We didn’t get a chance to do our US-shopping for the year (we’re REALLY looking like “missionaries” these days!)

• We didn’t get to see our family, except for a few visitors.

Our summer vistors: Laura, Michael, and Micah

• We missed out on fun American summer activities—camping, celebrating the 4^th of July, eating berries, VBS, reunions.

• We didn’t really have much of a complete break from “ministry” life in order to be refreshed for year 5.

• We didn’t get a chance to connect with our many, dear friends.

• We missed out on meeting our 4 brand-new nieces and nephews (and since they are so cute, here they are):