Nuestro casa!

Home with neighbors. . .

Home

During our CRWM orientation a couple weeks ago, we talked a lot about the concept of “home,” and especially what that means for our children living overseas. What makes a place our home? Is it where we were born, where we grew up, where our parents live?  The question on the forefront of our minds at the time though, was “Are we robbing our children of a place to call home and a sense of belonging?” I guess this question will only really be answered 20 years or so down the road when our children look back on their experience growing up overseas and either resent us or thank us. 

The thing that I have been asking God for most consistently over the past few months is that He would show us that moving to Nicaragua was in His plan for us and that we would be continually be affirmed in this decision, even months and years into our transition.  At this point, we are only two days into our new life. We are by no means “settled”—I am typing right now in our living room that has no furniture and when making lunch today I realized we have no salt or pepper (or any spices for that matter) but I do feel a huge sense of affirmation mainly due to the fact that our children already seem to be at home here. In less than 48 hours, they have made friends, been on playdates, been excitedly practicing Spanish and even playing with the neighbor’s pet bird.  I truly feel that our children could look back on this experience and thank us, and thank God for calling us AND them to this place. 

Keys

We leave for Nicaragua in one week! Had shots today at the Kent County Health Department--9 between Andrew, Ruth, Henry, and Mae. Poor Mae had five. Our house is MOSTLY empty. . .our goal is to be out by Thursday, but I think we'll beat the deadline by a day. We actually moved over to Ruth’s parents house last night, simply because of the weather. I think God is giving us a small taste of Nicaraguan heat and humidity before we leave here in Grand Rapids. Actually, the last few times I’ve checked, Managua is cooler than Grand Rapids by a few degrees! We are enjoying the frigid temperatures of the Arrowsmith household now. . .which makes it harder to head back over to 707 Union Ave and finish packing up.

Soon we’ll be handing over the keys of our house to the new owners! My key chain, normally bursting and heavy, has been steadily dwindling over the last few months. Keys are sort of status symbol; seems like the most important people carry the most keys. Now I've turned in school keys. Need to turn in church keys. The van keys drove off to New Mexico with my brother last weekend. We will travel to Nicaragua with absolutely no keys. When is the last time I haven’t owned something that needed to be locked up or turned on with a key? Not sure. It is a strange, sort-of-free feeling. But I’ll admit to a little anxiety as well without the familiar weight of those metal comfort objects.

I know we’ll be acquiring keys very quickly upon arrival. . . a new house, car, classroom. . .but in this moment, it’s good to remind myself that nothing here is forever. The “keys of the Kingdom” in Matthew 16:19 are forever, and without those metal keys in the way, maybe we are better poised to serve with open hands and open hearts.

Andrew

One month. . .and hardly time for counting!

In exactly one month, we are off! We have to remind ourselves to be excited--not because we aren't--but rather because life has been very "full" since we've made the decision to move and serve in Nicaragua. Things are wrapping up here--school's out, Vacation Bible School is over (Ruth and I helped lead this at our church this year), we've had the infamous "garage sale" and now live in a mostly empty house, the paperwork for Nicaraguan residency is complete, we had an incredible time of sharing and worship and eating with a huge group of friends and family at First Church on June 2, and our house is sold.

God's faithfulness has already been displayed in so many ways, through so many people, in so many situations. As things fall into place in ways we could not have orchestrated had we tried, we must give credit to our Maker. One specific way that we've been amazed was through the selling of our house.

We were quite sure we were going to have to rent our home, due to the low market value of our home and our urban neighborhood. We were okay with the plan to rent, though we knew that it could come with some headaches depending on the renters. So we worked really hard to find renters from our church or other people who would invest in the neighborhood which we love so much. We had multiple prospective tenants (and a property manager) walk through a few times, but time and time again it didn't work out for a variety of reasons. This was really discouraging, and we began to worry a bit about the "plan" for the house.

Ruth's parents lived a few blocks from us at this time, and decided to attempt to sell their house. They had an offer the day it was listed.

I was skeptical, but I agreed to list our own home and hope for the same luck. It took A LOT of work to make our busy, cluttered home "showable," but we were up for the challenge. Pictures were taken, and the house was listed online. The next day, by 9:00 AM, five showings were scheduled. Ruth had to get the house ready ALONE and abandon ship with the three kids for the entire day. That night, we had two offers. We accepted one of the offers (higher than our asking price!), and to make a rather long story short, the house SOLD and we are now renting our home from the buyers (up until July 20, I think). So yes, I suppose we can say that our house sold in one day, but anyone who has gone through the process knows that there are countless steps between an offer and closing (and I was truly convinced that each one was going to go completely wrong).

So, yup, in hindsight--all the issues with renting out our home, all the worry and silly hours pouring over zillow.com to check property values, convincing myself that the appraisal would flop or the inspection would reveal something major--God had it worked out. I am thinking that He is going to show up a few times like this in the process of beginning a new chapter of life. Closed doors might just mean that another door is open that we just don't know about. And I need to learn a thing or two about trust. . .

Las Semillas?

Welcome to the Ippel family blog! We're new to the blogosphere, but think that it will prove to be a good way to tell the stories that we encounter while we serve in Nicaragua to you, whomever you may be! We will be moving to Managua, Nicaragua at the end of July to serve as partner missionaries through Christian Reformed World Missions. I (Andrew) will teach pre-school at Nicaragua Christian Academy-- I can't wait to become a part of the community of teachers and learners at this diverse school. We are also excited to spend our time serving others in a variety of ways--ways in which we're not sure of yet! Check back often here to hear more:)
In regards to the title of our blog. . .please don't think we are showing off our Spanish knowledge, which is truly very limited at this point! Despite nights of brainstorming and even a last-minute attempt at a Blog-Naming Facebook Contest (results included "The Ippistle", "Michigan to Managua," "Ipps Nic Trip," and "The Ippels Ripple"), we ended up choosing one of the few Spanish words we did know without consulting a language dictionary. Las semillas (pronounced "las say mee yas") means "the seeds".

I really like the metaphors of seeds found in the Bible and in life.  Both the "Parable of the Sower" and the "Parable of the Mustard Seed" speak to a time of beginning, growth (or not), and spread (or not). As we prepare for our own "planting" in Nicaragua, we are keenly aware that we will remain dependent on God for growth and for the eventual bearing of fruit. We want to see the Kingdom spread--we want to plant Kingdom seeds in the hearts of others as well as we build relationships in a new place. As a soon-to-be preschool teacher, I also find the idea that God works in small things (and in very small people!) a good reminder of the importance of my ministry to the littlest ones at Nicaragua Christian Academy.  We know God's garden is already going wild in Managua--there are so many people of God in Nicaragua already that we will be growing alongside of. . .and that is something we are thankful for as we head into a new place.
The whole plant metaphor can go on and on. . .we're feeling the pain and exhaustion of pulling up roots as we're planning our goodbyes and our "last" events here in Michigan before we leave in July. It will be very difficult to leave this community here---our church, jobs, neighborhood, friends. . .we've lived in GR for 7 years now and we will miss this place.

We covet your prayers in the transition: we're going to attempt to sell our house in two months--which is a lot of work! We have a lot of "stuff" to deal with. . .this move is a great excuse to downsize, but it is not easy, esp. with three kids. We ask for prayers that our kids continue to handle this process so well. We're going now in part because we can with kids this young--doing this with teenagers might create a bit more family tension! But we don't want to underestimate the fear/unease that our kiddos might experience during this move. Finally, we ask for prayers to keep focused on the sense of call we feel to do God's work in another place. It is already very easy to only focus on fundraising, logistics, selling the house, emailing people in Nicaragua to prepare things for us there. . .but that isn't the main thing.

Thanks for your prayers and your support! Check in with us every once in a while. . .we'll try to be good communicators, because we do feel that part of our call is to tell the stories of God working in another place. Peace,

Andrew and Family