Meet...Christie!

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.

Least favorite:  Well, in another life I was a full-time, stay-at-home mom (before coming on the field), and now that we’re here, I don’t feel the same liberty to focus 100% on my family like before.  I feel huge pressure to do MORE than that now that I’m called a “missionary.” Like my ministry to the family isn’t enough.  I naturally have more time for things outside of family now that my girls are older and more independent, but as y’all know, life here means more time homemaking (cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc.)  I feel like I COULD spend all my time just helping my family function/survive, but there is this pressure (some of it real, some of it I put on myself) to be “productive” in the ministry by someone else’s standard.  The pull between those things is my least favorite part of being a missionary mom.  That, and worrying about whether my girls will marry Paraguayans or Americans or some other nationality, boiling down to how far apart we may live from them one day.  L 

Where do you find out more about free on line classes - and if they are free, do they count as continuing ed credits, etc.?

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?  

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.  

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!

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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!

Introducing...

Quinn Declan Kamper.

He arrived on June 21st just perfect and without any complications on his part or mine, which was something we prayed a lot for!!  He weighed in at 8 lbs 5 oz (Please oh please, don't ask me what that is in kilos...)
He was 21 inches long and has these amazing grey eyes!

As you can tell, we are all thrilled he's here.  And seriously, what is with this family?  We are all just a little off center.

Now comes the challenging part of getting his passport photo.  Right.  Here's what we have so far.  I do think he has pretty much nailed the "neutral facial expression and both eyes open" requirement for the US State Department. 

Or maybe we should call it more of the "deer in the headlights" look.  Oh well, hopefully it will be what they deem appropriate enough to give this guy his own little blue book so we can head back to Costa Rica in September!

Introductions

Well hello there!  This is Liz.  How fun that we all have a new place to hang out and share the nitty gritty of missionary life, huh?  When I stumbled across Missionary Mom's about two years ago I was thrilled.  I lived in a very little town in Northern Michigan and we were in the process of raising our support to move to Latin America.  The community around us had no understanding of cross cultural living, but as we say in Costa Rica "Gracias a Dios" for the internet!

And now, we have this new place, Missionary Moms' Companion.  I am so excited and a bit humbled by the fact I get to hang out here, write some and get to know you all better.  We've only been overseas for about a year and currently we are in the States, getting ready for the birth of our third baby (ekkk! Yeah, in like two and a half weeks!)

Here's something else you should know about me. I am a looser.  There, I said it. I am not always the sort of mom I want to be for my kids.  I am not always the sort of wife my husband needs either.  And there are days when I am a lousy friend, daughter, sister, and worker.  And I am sure that I offended countless people this last year as I adapted to Costa Rica, trying to muddle my way through Spanish.

That's the simple truth of it.  And when I pretend differently, it puts me in a really bad place.  Because then I work harder to try and hid the fact that I am a loser.  And the fact of the matter is, we are all losers.  We all fall short in every sort of way everyday.  That is a given.  And if I am resting on what others think of me and my spotless house, and perfect kids and amazing cross cultural  skills, then I am going to be a constant ball of mess and anxiety, because at some point, that facade is going to come crashing down.  No matter how hard I work at it.  And that facade might just crumble at a family photo shoot you were given for being a great mom.  Oh you guys, I have never been so embarrassed!  Sometime I have to show you the photos!

But, if instead, I freely admit that I can't do it all and that the only good I have is what has come from God, well, then, there is freedom in that.  That was the case when Christ loved me enough to die for me. He is patient and kind towards me and my mess of a life.  And He sees me as I will be someday, grown up into the woman that He created me to be.

If I am constantly trying to hide the messy parts of my life and think "well, if I just work harder at this, I would be better,"  that doesn't leave room for the Holy Spirit in my life.  But if instead I cooperate with the Holy Spirit's work in my life, He will change me.  After all, it's the Fruit of the Spirit, not the fruit of Liz that is important.

So.  Sometimes I say the wrong thing culturally (like the time I said a bit too loudly, "I just want to go to bed!" when the doorbell rang.  And yes, the visitors spoke English!)  And sometimes my floors need some attention (like everyday during dry season), and sometimes my kids need more attention than I give them.  And every single day I fall short of the mark.  But God is working on me every single day too.   He loves me now, and He loves me enough to grow me into the woman He made me to be. Who probably will still have messy floors in this life, but who will hopefully be more like her Savior too.

Now, please tell me I am not the only one!  How do you work through the being "on display" as a missionary?  What keeps you close to the Truth about what God says about us, that yes, we fall short of the mark, but He loves us and grows us into what we already are?