You gals really made me think!! Here's a go at what comes to mind for the questions you sent...
How do your girls feel
about living in Paraguay? Was it challenging for them to move there? How old
were they when you moved? Do you mind sharing how old your girls are? and what
are they thinking about after high school?
They are now 14 and 16, and were 9 and 11 when we moved
here. They’ve had tough spots at times
from lack of friends, missing family, the macho culture here, and feeling a bit disconnected. But since we’ve moved to a larger town last
year, it’s been worlds better for them.
I actually blogged about that yesterday,
about how they’re developing and adjusting over time.
Earlier this year (younger on left) |
As far as what they’ll do after high school, well, that’s a
big question right now. The 16-yr-old is
a planner and would like to have it all mapped out, but she’s undecided if
she’d like to move to the US as soon as she “graduates” for college there
(probably living with or near grandparents), or if she’d like to study here, or
if she should take a gap year and explore what she feels like is her missions
calling while learning a trade (cosmetology, cooking?—both of which are very
accessible here). She feels God is
calling her to Europe but we don’t know anyone there yet. She'd like to
“look around” there a bit before deciding what to study, because she feels more
drawn to tent-making missions. It’s a
source of much stress for her that these questions are all in the air, and the
truth is, I don’t know how to advise her.
Feel free to pray about this for us.
J The other daughter lives one day at a time and hasn’t
even begun to think past the current calendar year, nor does she want to. That’s a whole ‘nother post….
What's your favorite thing about being a missionary mom? What is your least favorite one?
Not long after we'd first moved to PY |
I love watching my girls interact with people who don’t seem to have much in common with us, seeing them recognize that really we all have the most important things in common. I think that all things considered, what they're learning and experiencing far outweighs the down side of this mission life, and I'm thrilled that God moved us here while the girls were still young enough to be part of it all.
Where do you find out more about free on
line classes - and if they are free, do they count as continuing ed credits,
etc.?
What are some of the curriculums that you've used, since you say that you've experienced every type?
Thanks for letting me share about my family and this country we have come to
adore. I’m looking forward to reading
about all of you!
I google to find
sites that are specific to the ministry I’m looking into, then look for
training resources. For example, on the
site for Prison Fellowship Ministries, I found a series of videos and a quiz
after each one. In orality evangelism, I
found this site and this one with similar training. Also, lots of colleges are now offering free
classes (google “free online college courses” and a trillion links
appear), some with online textbooks, video lectures, a syllabus--the whole shabang, totally free. A few have a printable
certificate at the end, but most of these don’t offer anything “official.” I don’t have any requirements for continuing
education, though. I just do this for my
own benefit.
Tea or coffee? And what is your favorite flavor or kind?
Tea or coffee? And what is your favorite flavor or kind?
Neither. If pressed, I’ll take
tea, either hot or good ole' South Carolina sweet iced tea. But I prefer kool-aid (which kind folks mail
to me here) or Paraguayan tereré.
What are some of the curriculums that you've used, since you say that you've experienced every type?
We started
with Abeka and Bob Jones because I was nervous and wanted someone to walk me
through each step. Then we did KONOS unit studies for a few years. Since then, we’ve done Math-U-See, Saxon math,
Apologia sciences, Latina Christiana, Shurley Grammar, Easy Grammar, Daily
Grams, various public school texts, Classical Conversations, Mystery of
History, Fallacy Detective Logic, Drive-Thru History, Christian Liberty Press
history, Spelling Power, PACEs, Wordsmith, Writing Strands… I’m sure I’ve left
a few out, but those come to mind right away.
Oh, yeah, we did Switched on Schoolhouse for a couple of years here in
PY, with high hopes but low success. We’re
now using Tapestry of Grace (love it but it’s a lot of work), Apologia
chemistry, Teaching Textbooks Algebra II, Jacob’s Geometry, Write Source, and
some supplemental internet freebies.
What is your favorite
thing about Paraguay and what is the food like there?
We're horrible about forgetting to take family photos. This one's a few years old, but don't you love how patriotic we look under the flag?! hee hee ;) Now, the girls are as tall as I am! |
I don’t think I could narrow it down to
one thing if I tried. I adore living
here. There is such a feeling of
community, of togetherness. And I do
love the strong cultural identity here.
PY is a small country that lost a lot of territory in wars with much
larger countries over the years, wars that had the potential to totally
annihilate them. They’re pretty fresh
out of dictatorship. The people have a
survivor’s spirit after so much hardship.
We have two official languages, Spanish and the native Guarani, which
blend together into what’s called Jopara, unique to here. So all around us they speak Spanish (and
Portuguese) and little Paraguay has its own thing going.
Beef is big industry here, so it’s a carnivore’s world. The fruits and veggies are great, too, from
the tropical climate, but typical foods are
fried (empanadas, a fried pancake
thingy called a tortilla,
country-fried steak or chicken that they call milanesa) or carb-heavy (rice-based guiso and noodle-based tallarines). It’s VERY tough to eat healthy unless you can
manage to always eat at home, which isn’t exactly culturally appropriate.
If you want more details about life in PY, I just read this great article in a NY Times post that sums it up well.
Why Paraguay?
The super short version? We felt the call to Latin America, thought we’d be going to Peru, ended up in Paraguay, found out the reason we’d come wasn’t going to work out, but felt this was where God wanted us all along and had used the other events to get us here. It's turned out to be a great fit for our prior ministry and life experience and the personality of our family.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Next up, Danielle:
If we sat down to have a cup of coffee, I would want to hear your story, and share a little bit of mine.
First there was a time in my life where I vowed I would never move south of Texas because of a difficult short-term missions experience. I also was all set to go to another continent before God turned things upside down and called our family to El Salvador!
Since moving here, language learning has been harder than I thought, but it hasn't been my biggest frustration...you would hear about that when the subject turned to our children and education.
I would also share how I now have a passion for a ministry that was never on my radar during our pre-move planning and preparation. Of course, I would also share all the things that make El Salvador unique and special to our family.
If you have any questions about me or about El Salvador, post them in the comments and I will answer them soon!
Great to get to know you, Christie! I can relate to the stress you feel about needing to focus on family and also feeling the pull to minister "beyond" the home! I think we cross-cultural moms are all jugglers.
ReplyDeleteDanielle, I have two questions:
1. Why has your biggest frustration been your kids and their education? I can sort of guess, but just wondering... I'm sure it's something we'll all understand!
2. Do you ever have free time and if so, what do you like to do?
what's the silliest thing you've done as a family Danielle?
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you, Danielle! I'm wondering about those things that make El Salvador special to your family....
ReplyDeleteWhich continent were you thinking you would be going to before being called to El Salvador? (I'm especially interested because I too thought I'd be going somewhere else but find myself in Central America, one place I had never thought I would go as a missionary!) Has it been hard for you to adjust your thinking to El Salvador instead of the original place?
ReplyDeleteAnd, I would love to hear about the new ministry passion God has given you.