PRAISES:
- Good trip to the USA and time with family
- Safe travel back to Nicaragua
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Health
- Get internet fixed along with long-distance calling
- Direction for coming months and what God would have me get involved in.
- Provision for when I return.
October was a gypsy-style month with lots of moving around and packing/unpacking.
No sooner had I started settling into the new house, then it was time to repack for a brief trip to the USA! Almost 13 months from leaving the US, I landed in Florida for a training conference with other missionaries from all over Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico. It was cool to hear what is happening in other countries. And afterwards I was able to spend time with my family who came down and also visit extended family in GA before flying back to Nicaragua this week.
After only being gone a year I didn’t think it would be hard adjusting back to US life, but several things caught me off guard. So here are a few examples of what people face when they come back from being overseas. I nearly cried being in an English speaking service. It was amazing! I hadn’t notice until that moment how much I had missed singing and praying in my own heart language in a group setting. Hope I never take that for granted again. My first day back I went to a store and was looking for one simple item, but when faced with 40 choices I got overwhelmed and almost quit. Another time I went to a vending machine and did quit because you had to download an app and set up an online account just to use the silly machine. Another weird thing was that while I was focused on things being locked and secured, other people didn’t seem to even think about it. Hahaha, yes a year brings a lot of changes.
Thanks to those who prayed for my travels. No missed flights, no lost luggage, and no hassles at check-in or customs. In fact, mostly “smooth sailing.”
The rainy season was hitting hard before I left and after I came back.The muddy roads and the innumerable police checkpoints make for interesting driving ;-). The weekend I left for the US was when Hurricane Nate hit Nicaragua. And this week another storm came through and caused additional flooding. Our missions team is working to get supplies into the affected areas. It has also been incredible to watch the Nicaraguan believers send help to those in the flooded towns. One church in Managua sent boxes of supplies to San Juan del Sur.
Thanks to Facebook and WhatsApp the folks in San Juan del Sur and I have been able to stay in touch and hear how they are doing. Technology is wonderful.
In Latin American culture, a girl turning 15 is a HUGE deal. It is bigger than a wedding. The celebratory event is called a “Quinceñera” (celebrating becoming an adult). On that first weekend after the move, a teen girl that one of my missionary friends has been working with out in a small community celebrated her Quinceñera. Another missionary who made the cakes and I went to help out and I also got to be the unofficial photographer. The girl and her 6 female and 6 male attendants (normally there are 14 attendants so that with the birthday girl there is a total of 15) were all dressed up in prom gowns and suits and walked in procession down the main street of the neighborhood to the church where there was a special service, then back through town to her family’s home where the yard filled to overflowing for the celebration meal. It was special to watch people share words of encouragement with this young woman.
Hope you are well. Any time you, your small group, Sunday School class, or church would like to video chat with me, I would love to do so.