Tuesdays Together: Home

(I'm having rather severe technical difficulties here, but I think I can get this published.)

Again, it's time to get together and enjoy some quiet conversation. So, settle in and take your time. I've had the topic on "home" on my mind lately. Actually, it's often (always?) there. To be very honest, even though I wanted to live this life from the time I was little, and even though I love it, I never really knew how challenging some aspects of "home" would be for me.

But first, for your viewing pleasure, here are pictures of three homes around the world.
Ashley's in Russia:

The first view is actually out their kitchen window,
but their building looks like the one on the right.

Sarah's in Costa Rica:

They'll have to move soon; let's pray that their next house
will be just as much of a beloved home as this one has been.

Here is where I live:

Half a house in Ukraine (It's like a taste of heaven!)

Then, here's some more to read and look at:

• an old Tuesday Topic
• a "Home Sweet Home photo challenge"
• part 2 of that

These verses have been a great encouragement to me when I have struggled with various homes:
"Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations."
Psalm 90
and
“Compared to what’s coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we’re tired of it!”
[...but...]
“Cramped conditions here don’t get us down. They only remind us of the spacious living conditions ahead. It’s what we trust in but don’t yet see that keeps us going.”
(from 2 Corinthians 5 in The Message)

And now your part:

What do you consider your (earthly) home? What makes a house/apartment feel like home to you? How many times have you moved in your ministry life? Do you have photos or a blog post that you can link to, showing us where you live? What else can you add to this theme of "home"?

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?

Tuesday Topic: Anti-American sentiments

(Thank you for your feedback last week. This question came in, so I'll keep thinking about what will be in this space later....)

A reader writes: "We recently had a situation with a missionary friend here in which a [local person] told him that [local people] as a whole do not like Americans. We have sensed it in numerous situations but no one has actually said it out loud to us. Is this normal? Do most missionaries feel that the country, in which they are serving, does not like them and does not want them to be there?" I also add: Please share any anti-American/Western/your nationality experiences that you would like to tell and let us hear how you've dealt with them.

(If you have a “Tuesday Topic” question, please email it to me at fylliska@gmail.com. Provide your blog address if you would like to be linked to, or specify if you would like to remain anonymous. Thanks!)

Tuesday Topic: Weekly feature?

Tuesday Topics are my favorite part of this blog. I love the interaction and discussion! However, as we've been working toward "relaunching" here, we've considered changing the weekly feature to... something else. (What?) There haven't been as many questions sent in lately, and I've had trouble coming up with them on my own. So, this week's topic is:
Should we keep going with Tuesday Topics or not? If not, what should we replace them with? Do you have any suggestions for a different weekly feature, one that would still involve interaction?

(If you have a “Tuesday Topic” question, please email it to me at fylliska@gmail.com. Provide your blog address if you would like to be linked to, or specify if you would like to remain anonymous. Thanks!)

Tuesday Topic: Switching languages

This is something people have asked me in real life recently, and it was in the comments here, too:
Have you been able to successfully switch which language you speak with someone? How? Do you have any tips on how to do that? Especially, how would you change the main language in your home?

Personally, I've found that what I start with, is what sticks, and that's not always good. We speak Russian with our children, but we've done that since they were born. We have been able to bring in English in certain contexts, but it's harder than I would have guessed. (They're bilingual, but they don't like to speak English with us.)

(If you have a “Tuesday Topic” question, please email it to me at fylliska@gmail.com. Provide your blog address if you would like to be linked to, or specify if you would like to remain anonymous. Thanks!)

Tuesday Topic: Feelings about going back

Recently we had a series of questions from someone who was thinking about heading overseas. Now we have a few from someone considering a move in the other direction, back to her original home country. Here is the second question:
I have a lot of fear and excitement about possibly returning to the states. Within a minute's time, I can get overcome with excitement and fear all at once. I think about returning to life as it was before, and I get sad. Then I think about returning to the conveniences, friends/family, and worshipping in my home country again, and I get excited. Is this what you feel, too? How do you work through and reconcile these feelings?

There was a really good post about this topic on The Overseas Life blog, too.

(If you have a “Tuesday Topic” question, please email it to me at fylliska@gmail.com. Provide your blog address if you would like to be linked to, or specify if you would like to remain anonymous. Thanks!)

Tuesday Topic: Knowing when to leave

Recently we had a series of questions from someone who was thinking about heading overseas. Now we have a few from someone considering a move in the other direction, back to her original home country. First, she asks:
How do you know when it's time to leave the mission field? I have been feeling very discontent lately but don't know if it's my own heart issue or if it is God beginning to prepare my heart to return to my home country.

There was a really good post about this topic on The Overseas Life blog, too.

(If you have a “Tuesday Topic” question, please email it to me at fylliska@gmail.com. Provide your blog address if you would like to be linked to, or specify if you would like to remain anonymous. Thanks!)

Tuesday Topic: Cake!

This is a simple, but important question. Tomorrow is our oldest son's 11th birthday:
Do you have tried and true cake and icing recipes that you like? Certain ones that you always run to? I do for icing now (no powdered sugar!), and I've tried lots of cakes, but I don't have a favorite yet....

(If you have a “Tuesday Topic” question, please email it to me at fylliska@gmail.com. Provide your blog address if you would like to be linked to, or specify if you would like to remain anonymous. Thanks!)

Tuesday Topic: Encouraging kids

Bonnie asks:
What do you do to encourage your kids in your host country? We have been here for a year and our kids have had it hard getting made fun of and having kids tell them they don't want to play with them because they're not from here. There are a handful of friendly kids in the neighborhood and at their public school but more often than not they have a hard time. I offer encouragement but feel like I come off as being trite sometimes. What are some things other moms have done?

(If you have a “Tuesday Topic” question, please email it to me at fylliska@gmail.com. Provide your blog address if you would like to be linked to, or specify if you would like to remain anonymous. Thanks!)

Tuesday Topic: Language learning advice

Recently Cherie shared about where she is in learning German. Who else is right in the midst of language learning? Whether you're in the midst of it, or not, what advice do you have to share about learning a language?

(If you have a “Tuesday Topic” question, please email it to me at fylliska@gmail.com. Provide your blog address if you would like to be linked to, or specify if you would like to remain anonymous. Thanks!)

Tuesday Topic: Continued language learning

I was sure that we had recently discussed advice for those in the midst of language learning. Did I imagine that? I can't find it. Maybe that will have to be next week's topic, if someone else doesn't dig it up for me first. (Ah, here it is. Let's make that a topic for next Tuesday, too.)

For now, I wanted to ask this:
If you're beyond the language learning phase, how do you continue learning your language? Or, if you're not there yet, what ideas do you have to share, thoughts for when you get there? Can anyone say that they have learned a language? I mean, I'm fluent, but it seems to me that there's always room for improvement....

(If you have a “Tuesday Topic” question, please email it to me at fylliska@gmail.com. Provide your blog address if you would like to be linked to, or specify if you would like to remain anonymous. Thanks!)

Tuesday Topic: Media perspective

Danielle says:

As an American serving in the country of El Salvador, my heart has been broken by recent news stories featuring children from El Salvador and other Central American countries who have immigrated to the United States. It is an incredibly complex issue, but it has been hard for me to read the negative comments about Salvadorans that I have come across on social media and in news reports from the U.S. Many of them make broad and general statements without fully understanding the history and social issues facing this region. Has anyone ever felt this before? How has your perspective changed about your host country since moving overseas? How do you feel when your host countries are the topic of media coverage in the United States? How do you engage your friends and family, particularly when the issues are polarizing ones? I would love to hear your thoughts, if you have experienced this, and how you have handled it.

This is very current for me, in Ukraine, right now, too. We're getting a whole lot of news coverage and attention these days!

(If you have a “Tuesday Topic” question, please email it to me at fylliska@gmail.com. Provide your blog address if you would like to be linked to, or specify if you would like to remain anonymous. Thanks!)

Tuesday Topic: Advice before moving

From a reader who is preparing to move overseas:
What would be your advice to someone about to move abroad/afraid to move abroad?

I think we have some older posts about this question. We can link to those in the comments, too.

(If you have a “Tuesday Topic” question, please email it to me at fylliska@gmail.com. Provide your blog address if you would like to be linked to, or specify if you would like to remain anonymous. Thanks!)

Tuesday Topic: Skills to learn

From a reader who is preparing to move overseas:
Is there anything for my household that I need to learn while still in the comfort of my own home? (like doing laundry by hand, etc.)

(If you have a “Tuesday Topic” question, please email it to me at fylliska@gmail.com. Provide your blog address if you would like to be linked to, or specify if you would like to remain anonymous. Thanks!)

Tuesday Topic: Climate/Clothing

From a reader who is preparing to move overseas:
What is the climate like where you are and how do you typically dress there?

(If you have a “Tuesday Topic” question, please email it to me at fylliska@gmail.com. Provide your blog address if you would like to be linked to, or specify if you would like to remain anonymous. Thanks!)

Tuesday Topic: Support

From a reader who is preparing to move overseas:
How is everyone funded?

(If you have a “Tuesday Topic” question, please email it to me at fylliska@gmail.com. Provide your blog address if you would like to be linked to, or specify if you would like to remain anonymous. Thanks!)

Tuesday Topic: What to take?

From a reader who is preparing to move overseas:
What did you wish you brought along when you first moved overseas that they didn't have there?
And the other side:
What did you bring along that you ended up thinking "Why did I do this, they totally have it here!"?
Obviously, this will vary for different parts of the world, but it will be quite interesting to see the various answers.

(If you have a “Tuesday Topic” question, please email it to me at fylliska@gmail.com. Provide your blog address if you would like to be linked to, or specify if you would like to remain anonymous. Thanks!)

Tuesday Topic: Poverty elimination

I'm sorry it's been a while since I've posted a discussion topic. No one has sent any in, and I haven't had the brain space or time to come up with my own.

What can you share about "poverty elimination" efforts? Have you been able to help in that area, or do you have any failures you're willing to share that we can learn from? Any good resources to recommend? I just read When Helping Hurts, and, while it was very helpful, I still have so much I want to talk through with people who have more knowledge and experience than I do!

(If you have a “Tuesday Topic” question, please email it to me at fylliska@gmail.com. Provide your blog address if you would like to be linked to, or specify if you would like to remain anonymous. Thanks!)

Tuesday Topic: Staying sane :-)

I thought of this one last night during a little "emergency" sanity walk that I took by myself. What are your favorite little sanity measures? I mean, simple, everyday kinds of things that you do to take care of yourself. I'm not talking about a week at the beach, or a Paris vacation, or anything like that here, just the simple things. :-)

(If you have a “Tuesday Topic” question, please email it to me at fylliska@gmail.com. Provide your blog address if you would like to be linked to, or specify if you would like to remain anonymous. Thanks!)

Tuesday Topic: Patriotism?

Are you patriotic about the country you live in? The one you came from? Would you fly a local flag or make other outright statements about where you stand? What about your children? How well do they know the little patriotic things of their passport country (anthem, flag, etc)?

(If you have a “Tuesday Topic” question, please email it to me at fylliska@gmail.com. Provide your blog address if you would like to be linked to, or specify if you would like to remain anonymous. Thanks!)