8 Things We've Learned in 8 Months

Today marks 8 months since we left our home in Grand Rapids and arrived at out new home here in Nicaragua.  To celebrate and reflect, I’d like to share with you 8 things we have learned in the past 8 months:

1)      Just because we live in a Spanish-speaking country, our kids becoming bilingual is not a given.  We are realizing that for this to happen it means that we will have to be intentional about the situations we place them in, and it will take effort on our part and theirs. 

2)      When you have to go to multiple stores searching for an item you think you need to buy, with no guarantee that you’ll ever find it, it’s better to just go without the item in the first place. We have learned that very few things are absolute necessities.

3)      When you live in a country with frequent earthquakes, it is a good idea to sleep fully clothed.

4)      As a missionary, it is very possible to move to a different country and still live in your comfort zone.  If we wanted to, we could only invest in relationships with English-speaking North Americans.  While this is a temptation and will no doubt remain one, we are committed to challenging ourselves and daily stepping into our “uncomfort” zones--something difficult yet rewarding.

5)      When a Spanish speaker asks you, “habla español?” and you answer “un poquito,” it is essentially the same as saying no. 

6)      When you don’t have family nearby, others become your family quickly (not that our families could ever be replaced).  We are beyond grateful for the deep, loving relationships that we have formed that have been an incredible support to us throughout this transition, and amid the normal stresses of life (parenting, busyness of live, etc.).

7)      We have learned how to drink beverages out of bags, a very common practice here. Charlotte is probably the best in our family at biting off the corner and sucking the whole bag down.

8)      God truly is faithful.  We hear this a lot, but over the past year since we made our decision to move to Nicaragua, we have lived this truth.  In March of 2013 we received an email offering Andrew a teaching position at Nicaragua Christian Academy. At that time making it a reality—selling our home and car, raising enough financial support to meet our needs, dealing with all of our belongings and making an international move—seemed very nearly impossible.  But here we are.  God has made possible everything we had labeled impossible, and brought us to where we are now. As I was reflecting on this today, a song that I sang in Gospel Choir at Calvin College was stuck on repeat in my head, and very appropriately so:

I’ve got so much to thank God for,

So many wonderful blessings, and so many open doors,

A brand new mercy along with each new day,

That’s why I praise him, and for this I give him praise.

For every mountain You brought me over,
For every trial you've seen me through,
For every blessing,
Hallelujah, for this I give You praise!