Tuesday Together: Gardening

It's springtime here. Do you have a garden? Tell us about it! Or do you live in a city setting? Do you miss greenery, then? Is gardening a big part of the culture around you?

Also, as always, if you have a question you want to discuss with the community, or another idea for our weekly time together, please write to me at fylliska@gmail.com.

Tuesday Together: Discussing frantic questions and gentle answers

I've really been enjoying Sarah's current series of posts. We'd love to hear from you along the same lines, with anything you'd like to share about your own experiences. To get us going, here are just a few questions, but feel free to go in other directions, too:
Did you have a honeymoon phase when you got to your country, or did you go straight to a time of frantic questioning? What were those questions and how did God answer them? Are you dealing with any frantic questions now? What are some gentle answers you have heard, that you would like to share with us?

Tuesday Together: Come for coffee

As before, get comfy, and settle in to read and fellowship. It's chilly and rainy and blustery here today, so, I don't know about you, but coffee is just what I need! I posted some discussion questions last week, and here are answers to them.

First, from Erin:
Please pray I can let go of all bitterness, things/people that draw me away from Christ...true friends... and direction for next year. 

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds," "He has made everything beautiful in it's time..." I also read the OT prophets and Jonah (as part of my Bible reading plan) and felt better.

well funny language stories... I forgot that in Thai "mai" in a certain word is like a question mark in English, so I used to shout, instead of "See you later!" as I walked out the door... "WILL I see you later?" I also kept mixing up the Thai words for "buy" and "fight," so sometimes I would try to say "I want to go buy something," and it sounded like "I want to go fight something," (no wonder I would get strange looks). I also (remember thai is a tonal language) would mix up "spicy" with "diamond" and "duck" (all same words but different tones)... So instead of saying "I don't want spicy," I would say "I don't want ducks," or "I don't want diamonds." Yay me.


From Sarah, with a photo of her kids in Costa Rican dress as a bonus:

I have a recent, funny, cross-cultural kid story to share:

Last month, we had a visitor from the States staying with us, and she asked our son, a first grader, if he was learning “American history” at school.  I knew what she meant was if he was learning any history of the United States.  I simply explained that since he goes to a Costa Rican school, he’s learning mostly Costa Rican history this year. 

But, then my son piped up that he actually has learned about some history of the United States.  He went on to talk excitedly about a Costa Rican hero, Juan Santamaría, who, in my son’s words, “kept Costa Rica from being taken over by the American army.” 

Awkward silence…  (that wasn’t really the type of “American history” the visitor was thinking about)

… because in our “American” first grade textbooks, we don’t really learn about William Walker, the crazy American who formed a mercenary army, took over Nicaragua in the 1850’s, and then invaded Costa Rica.  They also don’t teach us about the young Costa Rican drummer boy, who in an act of bravery, lead to the defeat of this “American army,” making him probably this country’s most celebrated hero.  The main airport is named after him, there are statues of him, our kids sing songs about him…

It was a bit of an awkward conversation, because, right now, our son looks up to Juan Santamaría more than George Washington or Abraham Lincoln.  He’s lived in Costa Rica his entire life, and, right now, Costa Rica’s heroes are more significant to him.  I think that our visitor was a little shocked by this.  For me, it was a funny reminder of how our kids really are growing up differently than we did.  They are immersed in a different culture, and, while I do want them to learn the history of the United States, I’m thrilled that they get to learn about other historical figures that are unknown to most kids back in the States. 

Have other missionary moms experienced something like this?  How do you explain this to people back home that might not understand? 

Now, Richelle:

Kid story:

When our oldest daughter was in the French equivalent of kindergarten in our place of service, a certain boy in her class took a liking to her. One day after school, he sat down next to me and told me how much he liked our girl. I asked him if that was because she was smart, funny, good at games on the playground, pretty, nice… He looked at me very seriously and said: “No. I like her because she is white.” Out of the mouths of babes, eh? It is funny, but it also reminds me of just how hard it was to step across the cultural divide – I never really felt like we were able to accomplish that in the nearly 15  years we were there. It is a sincere prayer that, as we transition to a new place, God will give us discernment and wisdom as we learn a new culture.

Bible verse:

3 John 1:5-8 ~

"Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth."

Another few verses I treasure - because as a stranger - as one who has traveled to churches and visited people and places, literally in many places in this world - I've been, my family has been, the recipient/ of unbelievable/incomprehensible amounts of love, generosity and hospitality. This knowledge overwhelms me... it humbles me.

Prayer request:

Huge transitions on the horizon. To read more, go here.

Next is Ashley:
Here are a couple of recent cross-cultural kid stories:
My Daughter was asking me about one of her friends who moved back to the US and asked, "Where is Sam from again? Colorado?... Is that why he has dark hair?" (She was confused that Colorado was a state and not different country!)

Here is another interaction between me and my youngest daughter who is currently in Russian pre-school, and just starting to really pick up the language. 

Me to her while driving home from preschool: "Элси, Ты понимаешь когда я говорю по Русский? (Elsie, do you understand when I speak Russian?)"

Elsie to Me: "Да (yes)... Wait, did you just talk to me in Russian or English??" 

A verse that has recently encouraged me was Roman's 4:18-19 "In hope he believed against all hope,that he should be the father of many nations, as he had been told, 'So shall your offspring be.' He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead..." This verse has encouraged me for personal reasons related to our process of coming to Russia. I was studying Romans at a time when it seemed many things were falling apart with regards to our being able to come to Russia to serve. I knew we felt called to come here, but the obstacles were many. God really used this verse to call me to hope and faith with regards to what the Lord had called us to, despite our circumstances. We are now studying Romans with our church, and this verse was part of our study this week. Every time I read this verse it is special to me, especially now that we've been here in Russia for over 8 years and I can see how God has fulfilled what He had put on our hearts and how He continues to do so.

As for prayer, I'd love prayer for time management! That is such a boring prayer request, but I have so many things going on that I need to be wise with my use of time. Thank you, friends! I look forward to praying for you too!

And to finish, a few answers from me:
I don't usually share potty stories, but that's not the focus of this one, and it's not gross. So, for my funny kid story.... After being sick a while back, our little guy decided that he needs prunes daily. Today he asked me for his prunes, and I told him that we had run out. His quick response: "Oh. Then chocolate would help instead!"

Instead of a specific verse that has encouraged, I'll just share two topics that keep jumping out of my Bible readings: peace (for my own heart and for this country), and the idea that we are blessed when others curse and revile us.

Prayer requests: I've just been tired and busy lately! Ashley asked for prayer for time management; you can pray for me to be disciplined enough to get to bed on time.


Thank you to everyone who participated in this! Please carry on the discussion in the comments. Be sure to chime in with your answers to Sarah's question. Also, what suggestions do you have for later on in this space? Have you enjoyed these "coffee chats"? And take some time to pray for each other now, too.

Tuesday Together: Coffee again

I'm back! Sorry about the unplanned break here. I had to be out of town unexpectedly for two weeks. It was all good, I just didn't have time to plan ahead.

We're still recycling Ashley's coffee chat idea and questions. If you want to participate, please send your answers to me (fylliska@gmail.com). I'll compile them and post them next week. Feel free to send a photo of yourself to go with what you write, too. Here are the questions for this time:

-Do you have a funny kid story or cross-cultural/language mishap story to share?
-What is one verse that God has used to encourage you recently and why?
-How can we pray for you today?


And then, to discuss something today, let's have some travel chat in the comments: What was the last trip you took? Where to and what for? (Just send your email with your answers for the coffee chat off to me first, please. Then come back here for some chit-chat in the comments box, if you still have time. Thanks!)

Tuesday Together: Books!

(Maybe I should try switching Tuesdays Together to Wednesdays? Last week I just couldn't post; today our electricity was off all day and just came back on....)

This goes right along with our most recent post. We planned to regularly include books in here with our coffee, tea, friendship, and chatting, so once again, I ask: what are you reading now? And, I'll add a bonus question: what are your children reading?

I just finished The Pastor's Wife with the Velvet Ashes book club, and I highly recommend it! There is a lot of fun, much to think through, and some beautiful writing in there, all available for free. I'll try to post some of my children's recommendations in the comments a little later.

Oh, also if you want to go back to the last time we discussed what we're reading, that's here.

Tuesday Together: MKs growing up

(Yes, I know it's not Tuesday. I'm sorry! Yesterday just ran away from me.)

I was really encouraged by Christie's post about her teen daughter. And that led me to want to discuss more: If your children are still young, what kind of path do you think they'll take as they get older? If you're in the midst of older children, what directions are yours headed (in general)?

(If you have something you'd like to ask about on a Tuesday, please send it to me at fylliska@gmail.com. Thanks!)

Tuesday Together: Cross-cultural friendships

For today's Tuesday Topic Melissa asks: What have been some obstacles for you in developing cross cultural friendships? How have you overcome them? How long did it take? In what ways do those friendships affect your life?

We look forward to your answers and discussion in the comments!

If you have a question you would like to discus in the future, please send it to me at fylliska@gmail.com.

Tuesday Together: A day in the life (Melissa)

For me, today's "home visit" means running all the way around the world. We're off to visit with Melissa....

So we live in Nicaragua where my husband does "business as a mission" work, growing his website programming business, training and employing Nicaraguans and also working full time himself from home.  While he's doing that, I mother a 5-year-old boy, 3-year-old girl (4 tomorrow actually!), 2-year-old girl and 5-month-old boy.  Today felt a bit like a race, but that's fairly average so here we go.

I woke up to find my gem of a husband reading the Bible in the hammock surrounded by 3 sweet little distractions, i.e. our bigger kiddos.  So I grabbed Bibles for each of them and me and settled everyone in a bit more separate locations to read for a few minutes.  I hopped on my elliptical to get some exercise too before the day started to get hot.  Fifteen delightful minutes later, the public service alarm went off letting us all know it was 7AM.  Time to start the day!  

I went to get up our baby and nurse him while the kiddos began to jump into playing some sort of imaginary something which kept them quite occupied while I got ready for the day, threw in some laundry, bought milk from the milkman at the door and got breakfast ready for us all.  OK, so they weren't so occupied by the cooking part and I had some pretty enthusiastic helpers who worried me about spills but we made it through with no major mishaps.  Oatmeal today.  We ate about three bites and Karen our friendly cleaning lady came.  We stopped for a picture in honor of me recording our day :)  They love her!  Really, we all do.

Three bites later a loud knock at the door informed us that the fumigators were coming down the street so we stashed our oatmeal in the microwave and headed outside to avoid the fumes.  This happens every month or so to keep mosquito populations down as they can carry diseases we definitely want to avoid.  So we chatted with the neighbors on the front stoop for a half hour waiting for the fumes to dissipate.  My husband ran around the block with our 2-year-old to pick up bananas from our banana man because he just isn't a sit-still-doing-nothing kind of guy.  And one more thing off my list and one less baby to keep from jumping in front of a bus, woo hoo!  We live on the bus route, and there's just a sidewalk between our house-front and the street.

Back in the house we finally finish breakfast, and Baby goes down for his morning nap.  We head out back to hang up laundry to dry while the kiddos build forts in the leftover construction materials from when we renovated our house.  Definitely a highlight of the 5-year-old boy's day.  Makes me nervous though!

Then time for the 5-year-old's reading lesson while the younger girls play dress up in the other room.  I marvel at how he's actually learning to read sentences!  Despite being confused by vowels making completely conflicting sounds in English from Spanish.  He's a genius!  I always think that when he learns something new... then my second learns the same thing and it seems normal.  But I digress...

Quick errand trip with the girls while our boy decompresses from learning with legos.  Off to put minutes on my phone and buy cheese for lunch.  They're fun buddies, and make lots of people smile along the way with their blonde hair and baby-talk-Spanish.

Home again and time to get Baby up from his nap.  Nurse him, sweet smiles!  Gotta love a happy baby!  On to lunch making.  Not sure why I worked so hard on fancy guacamole though when my husband announces that our internet is too slow for his phone meeting right now (grrr, fritzy internet!) and heads out to have his meeting at an internet cafe.  Oh well, I still have good company.  Karen finishes and heads out.  We eat.  I have masterfully put the guac inside their quesadillas so they don't even notice they're eating veggies and gobble it all up.  I am feeling like a good Mommy.  

Ah, and then it's naptime.  Baby and toddler down to sleep.  Three and 5 year old rest with me for a nice, peaceful half hour.  Then quiet play for the bigger kiddos while the babies finish their naps and I catch up on some emails.  

Then everybody's up and the big boy heads off to Tae Kwan Do with Daddy who has his Spanish lesson in the same building at the same time and the girls and I get laundry down, folded, and put away.  A little leftover warming up for dinner.  Baby chows down on 3 servings of baby food, he is such a hungry little guy!

Then a quick bath for the kiddos to wash the sweat off and cool off before bed.  Nice family Bible-reading-Hymn-singing time that I just love.  My turn to put the boys to bed tonight.  Snuggles with my baby.  Under-the-stars chat with my big boy.  Lights out.  Aaahhh!  Decompress with my hubby about how long the process for licensing our car is taking and how our toddler's finally potty trained.  Hallelujah!

And that was today.  Cool breezes floating in again and I'm tired enough to sleep well before doing it again tomorrow!  I really do like it here.

~~~~~

Thank you so much, Melissa! Do anyone have questions or anything to add? Please comment below.

And for next week, I'm looking for a simple Tuesday Topic; who has a question you want to ask? Email it to me at fylliska@gmail.com.

Tuesday Together: Time for Tea (or coffee)

Yes, I said I was inviting you over for coffee. Do you mind if I change that to chai? This recipe just sounded good to me. I'll actually try it after I finish typing here, so I can't tell you for sure what I think of it yet. What about you? Will you try it? (By the way, I find "chai tea" to be very funny, when we're in the USA. In Russian, chai IS tea, so when I hear someone say "chai tea" in English, I think "tea tea?"!)

~~~~~ 

Get yourself some chai, or coffee, or whatever, and settle in to learn a little more about our community here. First, we'll hear from Melissa:
-What are some of the greatest joys and blessings in your life and calling right now?

Oh, how I love holding my children close and the great privilege of hugging them and teaching them.  I love naptime/rest time when I get to lay in a hammock and read the bible and listen to birds and quietly playing children.  I love hugging my husband and knowing that those strong arms are working so hard to serve both our family and the sweet people around us.

-What are some of the greatest challenges?

It breaks my heart to hear my Mom or mother-in-law mention how much they wish they could see their grandkids grow up and visit with them more regularly.  Seriously breaks my heart.  It is also hard to get laundry done and keep food in the house and all -- everything requires more physical work here it seems.  And then there is the lack of privacy - don't get me wrong, we are so blessed to have people stop by and come fix things and to clean our house!  Because people are here so often, though it really does change the dynamic of the home to have an audience while disciplining/potty training/sleep training/homeschooling and that has been hard for my introverted self to get used to.

-If you are serving overseas, what has it been like to learn to live and serve in another culture? Has it been easier or harder than you expected? What has been an unexpected joy? Has there been anything in particular that has been harder than you would have thought?

Unexpected joy - Never feeling 'alone' and a very joyful culture.

Unexpected hardship - Never feeling 'alone' and a kind of opinionated culture ;)

~~~~~ 

Now Rosemary shares:

Greatest joys and blessings:
I'm a mom of two kids with oldest being two. My second is starting to walk. So a lot of my joy comes out of watching my kids grow up. But other things that bring me joy are seeing my husband succeed and grow in his new position. He is one of the Canada's promoters for Teen Missions (which sends kids of most ages on short term mission trips over the summer). I also enjoy seeing the summer mission trip fill with teenagers, especially Canadian teens. It makes me feel that what we do actually does have an impact.

Challenges:
Being away from family. I still feel awkward asking non-family members to watch the kids. Feeling like I am a apart of the ministry. I'm with the kids all day. So, I rarely participate in anything that happens at the office or at promotion events. I get the stories afterwards, but it is not the same. 

~~~~~ 

Thank you, Rosemary! Next is Ashley:

-What are some of the greatest joys and blessings in your life and calling right now? Currently some of my biggest joys are the relationships that I get to enjoy as part of my "non-official" ministry. By that I mean that I am not able to attend a lot of our actual ministry events due to my kids' schedules and our family needs, but that God has still given me lots of opportunities to reach out to my neighbors and others that I interact with in my daily life. I feel like though I am less actively involved in vocational ministry during this particular season, God has actually given me more opportunity to share about Him with others than I have had in awhile! And since these relationships are ones that just happen in daily life, I am thankful for how natural they are and for the depth of relationship that comes with growing and building into these friendships over time. 

-What are some of the greatest challenges? I have been struggling with some health issues that have really limited my capacity. It has been a season of rediscovering the Lord's love for me and acceptance of me apart from my works. I of course know perfectly well that I am not saved by works and only by His grace, but I am amazed at how much the works mentality can still work its way into my practical theology. The long snowy winter is also very wearing on me, so that is another challenge. 

-What has it been like to learn to live and serve in another culture? Has it been easier or harder than you expected? What has been an unexpected joy? Has there been anything in particular that has been harder than you would have thought? Learning to live cross-culturally has been quite a process! My first year was so hard and exhausting. I didn't think we'd make it to see year two! It was definitely harder than I had expected. Then, to my great surprise and delight, I found sometime during our second year that I truly loved living overseas! What had originally been shock, hardship, confusion, physical and emotional exhaustion, frustration.... eventually transformed largely into adventure, peace, enjoyable challenge, and fulfilment. Of course life is never free from challenges, but overall I have been surprised after that first year to see how much God has given me joy and even great enjoyment in my life overseas. I would say that the hardest things for me about living overseas have been the initial hurdle of learning to communicate freely in a 2nd language, dealing with life in a snowy, cold, and dark climate, and the various seasons of loneliness that I've gone through, but God has met me so deeply through these struggles and used them to deepen my dependence on Him and to bless me in ways that I wouldn't have experienced otherwise.

~~~~~ 

And Christie:

-What are some of the greatest joys and blessings in your life and calling right now?

Joys and blessings--our homeschool year is ending and we have a little break. Our youth coffee house is getting new kids all the time. The English class I teach has opened lots of doors lately.
-What are some of the greatest challenges?

My kids are having tough times right now, and trying to guide them through these teen years with the complications that our ministry adds to that, can be a real challenge.
-If you are serving overseas, what has it been like to learn to live and serve in another culture? Has it been easier or harder than you expected? What has been an unexpected joy? Has there been anything in particular that has been harder than you would have thought?

For the most part, it has been easier than expected for me, harder than I expected for the rest of my family. This creates a certain tension. Making friends within the culture connecting to the nationals has been harder than I thought. We lived in a rural, more traditional setting the first few years, and the people there were much more open and welcoming. They are still friendly here in town, but in a more stand-offish, superficial way. I miss having connections. I think the biggest challenge, however, is not having a solid church home. I didn't realize how much of my world revolved around church and friends from church, and now that we lack that, I sure feel it.

~~~~~ 

Then there's me, Phyllis:

-What are some of the greatest joys and blessings in your life and calling right now?
My children! and being able to homeschool them. Also, for the first time in over a decade, I am able to minister outside my home, too; once a week I visit an orphanage for handicapped children, and I love that.
-What are some of the greatest challenges? 
My children? No, not really, but sometimes just parenting and teaching them seems to be all I can take. Really, the biggest challenge in my life right now is the unrest in Ukraine. War. It's a dark cloud hanging over everything. Please pray for our country!
-What has it been like to learn to live and serve in another culture? Has it been easier or harder than you expected? What has been an unexpected joy? Has there been anything in particular that has been harder than you would have thought?
This is terrible. I can't really answer, because I honestly don't remember my early days. (Please, if you're new to overseas life, keep a journal!) Of course, I'm still learning every day, but I don't feel like it's "another culture" anymore. Anyway... I don't know if this is an unexpected joy, because I always wanted to live in Russia--and I can extend that to Ukraine--but I really do just love life here; it's really is a wonderful joy and just what I always wanted. Some unexpected challenges: changing Russia to Ukraine over 6 years ago, and then the violence that has developed over the past year was definitely unexpected, and definitely hard. What is harder than I would have thought is trying to live with one foot in each of two countries. I don't do well with that at all.

~~~~~ 

Thank you to everyone who participated! Now, if you didn't already send in answers, but still want to, please comment below with your answers. Also, please feel free to continue the discussion in whatever direction you want. I noticed that several answers here are very similar. Most of us can probably relate to them. Add your voice!

For next week, I would like to do another day in the life. Isn't there someone out there who would like to let us follow you through a day? If so, please email me (fylliska@gmail.com).

Tuesday Together: Coffee Chat, part 2

Remember when we gathered--virtually--for coffee last time? Today starts a second round of that. Again, I'm going back to Ashley's questions. I ask that you send your answers to me, instead of posting them here. I'll compile what comes in, and I hope that will have a nice, long chat to read through and interact with next Tuesday.

Here are the questions:
-What are some of the greatest joys and blessings in your life and calling right now?
-What are some of the greatest challenges?
-If you are serving overseas, what has it been like to learn to live and serve in another culture? Has it been easier or harder than you expected? What has been an unexpected joy? Has there been anything in particular that has been harder than you would have thought?
Send your answers to fylliska@gmail.com. Thanks!

Did you write your email, and you still have time? I don't have much else to give you today, but we can make some small talk. What is the weather like where you are right now? I spent the whole day on the road in some of the thickest fog I've ever seen; what about you? Leave a comment below and tell us.

Tuesday Together: Helping culture shock

This week, to get myself back into the routine of posting, after all these holidays, I just have a simple Tuesday Topic: How do you respond and help when someone close to you is feeling culture shock? Just listen? Point out that there really are good things about the culture, even when all looks bad? Join in and agree? Or what?

If you have any questions that you would like to discuss here, please send them to me at fylliska@gmail.com. Thanks!

Tuesday Together: What are you reading?

This week's discussion is simple: What are you reading, or what have you read recently? What books can you recommend? Something really, really good to read online would also be nice.

(And does anyone have a Tuesday Topic to suggest? Any questions you want to talk about? Send them to fylliska@gmail.com.)

Tuesday Together: A Day in the Life...

No one volunteered to write up a day in their life, so you'll have to hear from me. Maybe this will break the ice so that someone else will want to do the same soon.

As a foreword, I grew up in a homeschooling family. There was a very popular homeschool magazine that featured a different family on the cover each month. Then, inside that issue, it would follow them through a day in their lives in great detail. I always thought that was the fun part of the magazine; now I know that at least some moms found it intimidating, though. (They did always seem to be perfect families!) That's obviously not what I want here. I just think it would just be fun to see how very similar and very different all of our different lives and locations are and get to know each other a little bit more. Yes?

~~~~~

I'm just going to tell you about yesterday here. Real life:
Our day started off very early when our son burst in to our room in the wee hours of the morning to announce that his sister's new pet rat ("he" was named Martin the Warrior; any other Redwall fans out there?) had given birth to five ratlets? ratlings? whatever... five baby rats! So, Martin is really Marta. Fortunately, we were able to get back to sleep after that bit of excitement.

We actually got up and moving a bit later. My husband made breakfast for us and went out to pay for another month of internet, since it was the first day of the month. The rest of us ate and then took care of our ducks. That means breaking the ice on their water, filling it up with hot water, feeding them, and collecting eggs.

Then we got a slow but good start on school. Every day with start with "Morning School," a time when I read aloud and work on memory verses and such with all four children together. Then the youngest was dismissed to play, while the older ones worked on math and music and history readings. We kind of dawdled and dragged through school, after a very busy weekend, but at least we got something done.

Honestly, there wasn't much excitement yesterday (except for the rat!), and sometimes that's really good. After school we had:
--lunch
--husband left for the office
--quiet time when the youngest sleeps, next older listens to audio books, and the rest of us read.
On Mondays, while it's still quiet time, I send our oldest off to his piano lesson, then a little later our second child leaves for her music literature and theory classes. On other days there are art classes or other music lessons. They all go to them on their own, though. I just have to get them out the door at the right times and headed in the right directions.

When quiet time ended, I took the three children who were home out for a little walk and some sledding. Littlest got whiney fast. He hasn't resigned himself to mittens yet this year. So he and I went back for hot chocolate and starting on dinner prep. The others stayed out to continue sledding with a group of neighborhood kids.

A little later the sledders returned, and we did some reading aloud and painting. Then my husband came back from the office, with our daughter, who he had met up with when her time at music school was done. We ate dinner, did some cleanup around our house, and then settled in for an Advent reading.

Then it was already time to brush teeth and head to bed. All four children share a room, so one of us sits and supervises to be sure they actually get to sleep, instead of partying. My husband did that, while I sat at the computer, worked on this post, and enjoyed a quiet cup of tea.

And that's that. A very ordinary day in the life of Phyllis.


How are your days similar to mine? What is very different? Who wants to share a day in your life next, probably next month? What else do you want to say?  


And now your assignment for next Tuesday: we're going to share our homes and some thoughts on "home." To start with, if you want to, please send me a photo of your current house or apartment, preferably from the outside for this time (fylliska@gmail.com). I'll compile those and post them, and then we'll discuss. Thanks!

Tuesday Together: Coffee chat

So, do you have your coffee? (Or what's your favorite treat like that? Share in the comments.) Let's sit back and get to know each other a bit. These are the questions from last week:
-How many kids do you have? How old are they? How long have you been married?, etc. 
-How did God call your family into ministry? Where are you serving and what is your ministry about? Is ministry something that you’ve always felt God leading you toward, or do you find it surprising that God has you where he does?

Here are the responses that have come in this week:

Hi, my name is Tammy. My husband of 27 years and I have are missionaries in Tanzania, East Africa. We have been missionaries since 1993 and have lived in Kenya and Tanzania with our three children. Our two older boys are now living in America with their families. I have one granddaughter who is 2 1/2 and a precious new baby on her way any day now! Our youngest is in the 11th grade and attends a MK Boarding school. 

When my husband and I were dating he had already graduated Bible College and knew God had called him into the ministry. After our marriage Bill took a position as a youth pastor. As a youth pastor he was asked to take the teens on a missions trip to Mexico. It was during those missions trips that the Lord worked on Bill’s heart in regards to full-time missionary work. After much prayer we decided on the country of Kenya. Some years later the Lord moved us to do the same church planting ministry in the villages surrounding the Lake Region of Mwanza, Tanzania. We are now entering a new phase of ministry as we take a back-seat role and do more training of national pastors/leaders and their wives rather than actual church planting. Its a joy to see the churches take on the burden of seeing churches started in villages without a gospel witness of any kind! 

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-Please introduce us a little bit to your family! How many kids do you have? How old are they? How long have you been married?, etc.

Lucas and I (Melissa) have been married 6 years and have 4 kids: David (5), Elsie (3), Lucy (2) and Peter (3 months).  Our house is full of noise and love! 

-How did God call your family into ministry?

Before we got married, I remember Lucas and I sitting at his kitchen table discussing our gifts and dreams about how we could use them to serve God together...  Gradually, God has clarified the vision that began that day as we've prayed together and with our families and Church in the US and even as we've been abroad wondering what step comes next.

 Where are you serving and what is your ministry about?

We live in Nicaragua.  My husband is a computer programmer who has his own business working for client companies often in the US and Europe.  We are working to grow the business and train Nicaraguans to work alongside him to bring some economic opportunities and improve lives of people who were born in a land with less opportunities to provide well for their families.  Our vision is to "seek another's good" and share Christ's love with our brothers and sisters here.  We are excited to see what God might be able to do that we can watch and take part in after just finishing our first year down here that had a lot of settling in and preparation in it!

Is ministry something that you’ve always felt God leading you toward, or do you find it surprising that God has you where he does?

It's been a vision that's gradually grown for us.  As we've learned more about the world and some of the harsh economic realities in it, this is where both of our hearts break and where our gifts line up too.  Along the way, with 4 little blonde kiddos following me to the market, God brings lots of surprising opportunities to share the heart of God too as so many people notice us and ask questions!

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-My name is Ashley, and I have 4 kids (ages 1.5, 4, 7, and 9). My husband and I have been married for almost 11 years and have spent the past 8+ years living and serving in Russia.

-My husband and I both served overseas during university, him in Siberia for 2 years, and me in China for 1, and during that time we both felt called overseas long-term to be sharing the gospel. Before college I would have NEVER thought I'd end up in ministry! After being overseas, I assumed that I would go back to China and my husband specifically desired to go back to Siberia. We had very similar passions and future callings so when we got to know each other and fell in love, it was very clear that God had brought us together and had prepared us to serve together overseas. We planned to go back to Siberia, but the Lord redirected us when the ministry that we had planned to join closed before we could get there. God then opened a door for us to work with students in Krasnodar (southwest) Russia, but we later were forced to leave that area due to visa and ministry security issues. We're now working with college students in St. Petersburg! 

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I'm Phyllis. Will and I have been married for 13 years. We've spent 6+ years in Russia, and now 6+ years in Ukraine. We have four children, ages 11, 9, 7, and 3; the youngest is in the photo here.

I always wanted to live and serve God in Russia, for as long as I can remember. Now we're in Ukraine, and that was something of a surprise for me, but I have truly come to love this country and people. It's close enough to Russia that I do feel like it's what I've always been led to... with slight difference. We work in orphanage ministry.

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Thank you so much to those of you who sent in your answers! If you didn't, and still want to, please share in the comments now. Also, let's continue the conversation there. If anyone's stories here strike a chord with you, tell us about it. Ask more questions, etc... let's chat.

Next Tuesday I'd like to post "A Day in the Life of...." Who wants to share that with us? Let us follow you through a day: a real day, a typical day, an ideal day, your choice what kind. If you're interested in sharing that, please write to me at fylliska@gmail.com.

You're invited...

...to chat over coffee. Remember? Please don't forget to send in what you would like to tell us about yourself. There hasn't been much response yet, at least not on the second part of the "assignment" at the end of Tuesday's post. I'm looking forward to hearing from you all!

Tuesday Together: Time for coffee!

Here we go! The goal of posts like this is to help us get to know one another better, to let us feel like we're able to spend time together over cups of coffee (or tea), and just chat.

So, first set aside some time to browse, get yourself something yummy to enjoy, and then--when you're done reading--be ready to write and share with us. (For the yummy part, I recommend a pumpkin latte.)

For your reading and fellowshipping pleasure this week, we had some good spontaneous discussion of education options and choices. That started on Facebook. (I think you should be able to read it, even without a Facebook account.) That reminded us of an earlier post from this blog, and a Tuesday Topic here, and another on the old blog. And also, there is an older series that Ashley did; I'm linking to all those excellent posts here:

• Intro
• National schools
• International and missionary schools
• Homeschool
• Boarding school
• Conclusion

So, are you back with us after going through those links? Lots of good information there, eh?

Now to add your voice, there are two options, and (I hope you have time for both!)....

1) Please add to the education conversation in the comments here. What do you have to add? Questions, comments, experiences, etc?
2) For next week, I ask that you would send me an email. I'll compile those and post them on Tuesday. We'll be discussing the first two questions that Ashley gave when she "hosted" a coffee chat. Please send your email to fylliska@gmail.com, with your name or alias if you're in a closed country, your location, blog link and/or photo of yourself are completely optional but would be fun, and answers to these questions:
-Please introduce us a little bit to your family! How many kids do you have? How old are they? How long have you been married?, etc. 
 -How did God call your family into ministry? Where are you serving and what is your ministry about? Is ministry something that you’ve always felt God leading you toward, or do you find it surprising that God has you where he does? (And even if you’re not in vocational ministry, if you’re a Christian, you are a missionary, so please share what that looks like in your life!)

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Many thanks to Ashley for the content and ideas here today!

Tuesdays....

I've been thinking about Tuesday Topics, not wanting to say goodbye to them, and also getting excited about some other ideas. Here is what I have come up with:

(Thank you to everyone who helped with the brainstorming!)

Instead of always the same kind of discussion, we'll now have "Tuesdays Together." The focus will still be on interacting with each other, but it will come in several different formats. I want to rotate through them.

We'll still have Tuesday Topics, as the questions come in. So, please send them to fylliska@gmail.com. These are topics, usually practical ones, that we discuss together in the comments on each post.

Then I want to add a format where we give a conversation theme one week and compile everyone's thoughts about it for the next week. These will be deeper, chattier topics, where we invite you to grab a cup of coffee or tea and get to know your community a bit better when you have some time to sit and read a bit. These will be our Coffee Chats, and I'm basing them on something Ashley hosted several years ago.

Another one--I still need a (clever?) title for this--is where we share some of our daily life. We'll share about daily details of our lives, our homes, our surroundings, and more. I hope we'll include photos at least sometimes.

Also, books! and other reading material. Once in a while, I'm just going to ask what you're reading. Those posts will be a place to share what you've enjoyed and been encouraged by lately.

That's where we're headed: Tuesdays Together, discussing practical topics, "sharing" cups of coffee or tea, inviting each other into our daily lives, and telling about what we read. Does that sound good to you? Which one do you think you'll like best? Is there more that we should add to the rotation?