When we bought our first house in California, I couldn't wait to start working on the front, back, and side yards. It was a corner lot with lots of yard space. I made copies of the house plan and sketched out my dreams.
After a few years of saving and working, we had a pretty green front lawn and neatly landscaped shrubs. But I still longed for one plant that never seemed to like me.
Bougainvillea.
They were more common on the coast, but I had seen them thriving in the valley, too. But after a couple of failures, I gave up. They never lasted more than one season.
Now, in South America, I have a cemented patio in the back of the house with a grand, gorgeous purple bougainvillea. It actually is planted in the neighbor's yard on the other side of the wall, but it tumbles over the top onto our patio, giving us shade and color.
I finally have a bougainvillea, a special gift from God. And I don't even have to fertilize or water it! I can see it blooming from our bedroom window.
I also found out that this plant is native to South America and prefers sandy, coastal regions. That explains why it looks so beautiful and healthy.
And, a month after writing the above, I realized that I have one in the front yard, too! It just hasn't bloomed this year so I didn't pay any attention to it.
I trimmed it back the other day and woke up to the fact that I was trimming a bougainvillea. I hope the trim wakes it up a little. Even if it doesn't bloom, I'm happy it's alive.
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Growing
How's the youth group? the church? the weekly Bible Study? The young adult's study? the children's club? One word sums it up: growing. Recently I started shopping to keep the church stocked with snacks for the kids club and for the coffee hour after worship. But we keep running short on cookies and cups. It's because more people keep coming.
Last Sunday we had the joy of hearing four dear friends profess their faith in Jesus and the privilege of watching them be baptized. It was beautiful. That day five others joined the church, too. And the sister church in Mercedes will also be partnering with us until they are more independent. Our missions team just expanded when we added two young adults, members of Reformed Churches in Brazil, who are here to help with the youth group and kids club for a few months. We just keep growing.
The youth group met last night and had a great time of study and fun. They exchanged gifts and ate pizza until almost midnight. Then Mark and Mauricio took them all home. The group of kids is a nice mix of Brazilians, Americans, and Uruguayans. Our goal is to establish a Reformed Uruguayan Church, not necessarily a multi cultural church, but we gladly welcome people from other countries who have settled in Montevideo. This includes friends from Peru, Columbia, Argentina, and Chile.
What have we been doing the past few months? The haze of the first year has finally cleared, and we are in the middle of ministry, ready or not. Mark is preaching more often, teaching Bible Study and continuing to lead the worship team. Once a week he meets with a tutor to study advanced Spanish grammar which greatly improves his preaching. He also meets people weekly for discipleship in our home. We are traveling more frequently, too, as we work with the new group in Mercedes. When Mark teaches their Bible study, he doesn't get home until 2 in the morning. Tomorrow morning, Sunday, we'll all leave at 6am to get to the service on time.
The kids have been taking their final exams and working on research papers and projects. I'm so proud of each one of them and how far they've come this year. I can't believe some of the exams they just completed, and all of them in Spanish. Can you imagine physics, chemistry and algebra finals in a second language? Sabrina and Joshua are on summer break now and Julia and Isaiah have one more week left. They've grown physically, too, and now three of them are taller than I am.
I have two more classes left in my web design computer class. I love taking a class in Spanish. I've learned a whole new set of vocabulary. I've also learned how to build a web site and maintain it. The next step is working on our church web site www.ipuy.org.uy as well as helping the Mercedes group get one running, too.
We've finally moved from point A to B in our visa process. We can stay here legally for at least 3 more years on a "temporary residency" before we need to come up with a new plan. We may need to show some Uruguayan income to get permanent residency. But, a friend and I are working on offering English classes to local businesses as well as translating Christian books. So, that may help us out. It will not be much income, but hopefully it will be enough to prove to migrations that we are settled here.
As I think about this past year, I am thankful for the friends we have in church, the friends we have in our neighborhood, and our connections at the kids' school. If I compare our major transitions from New Jersey to California to Costa Rica to Uruguay, our transition to Uruguay has been the hardest but also the most rewarding and satisfying.
I've had to fight hard and push myself harder to get where I am now, one year later. I've had to battle real fears: saying stupid things in Spanish, failing to get permanent residency on our first try, being very cold all winter, extreme exhaustion from the increased physical demands of maintaining the home, not understanding the simple things people say to me, serious misunderstandings with a teacher at school, getting attacked in broad daylight two blocks from home, feeling like I really don't belong here.
And here I am, feeling more at home and excited about what is happening at church. I'm also thrilled with our new friendships. How am I doing? I'm still fighting. And I'm growing... Growing spiritually and feeling a little stronger after one of the hardest years of my life.
Last Sunday we had the joy of hearing four dear friends profess their faith in Jesus and the privilege of watching them be baptized. It was beautiful. That day five others joined the church, too. And the sister church in Mercedes will also be partnering with us until they are more independent. Our missions team just expanded when we added two young adults, members of Reformed Churches in Brazil, who are here to help with the youth group and kids club for a few months. We just keep growing.
The youth group met last night and had a great time of study and fun. They exchanged gifts and ate pizza until almost midnight. Then Mark and Mauricio took them all home. The group of kids is a nice mix of Brazilians, Americans, and Uruguayans. Our goal is to establish a Reformed Uruguayan Church, not necessarily a multi cultural church, but we gladly welcome people from other countries who have settled in Montevideo. This includes friends from Peru, Columbia, Argentina, and Chile.
What have we been doing the past few months? The haze of the first year has finally cleared, and we are in the middle of ministry, ready or not. Mark is preaching more often, teaching Bible Study and continuing to lead the worship team. Once a week he meets with a tutor to study advanced Spanish grammar which greatly improves his preaching. He also meets people weekly for discipleship in our home. We are traveling more frequently, too, as we work with the new group in Mercedes. When Mark teaches their Bible study, he doesn't get home until 2 in the morning. Tomorrow morning, Sunday, we'll all leave at 6am to get to the service on time.
The kids have been taking their final exams and working on research papers and projects. I'm so proud of each one of them and how far they've come this year. I can't believe some of the exams they just completed, and all of them in Spanish. Can you imagine physics, chemistry and algebra finals in a second language? Sabrina and Joshua are on summer break now and Julia and Isaiah have one more week left. They've grown physically, too, and now three of them are taller than I am.
I have two more classes left in my web design computer class. I love taking a class in Spanish. I've learned a whole new set of vocabulary. I've also learned how to build a web site and maintain it. The next step is working on our church web site www.ipuy.org.uy as well as helping the Mercedes group get one running, too.
We've finally moved from point A to B in our visa process. We can stay here legally for at least 3 more years on a "temporary residency" before we need to come up with a new plan. We may need to show some Uruguayan income to get permanent residency. But, a friend and I are working on offering English classes to local businesses as well as translating Christian books. So, that may help us out. It will not be much income, but hopefully it will be enough to prove to migrations that we are settled here.
As I think about this past year, I am thankful for the friends we have in church, the friends we have in our neighborhood, and our connections at the kids' school. If I compare our major transitions from New Jersey to California to Costa Rica to Uruguay, our transition to Uruguay has been the hardest but also the most rewarding and satisfying.
I've had to fight hard and push myself harder to get where I am now, one year later. I've had to battle real fears: saying stupid things in Spanish, failing to get permanent residency on our first try, being very cold all winter, extreme exhaustion from the increased physical demands of maintaining the home, not understanding the simple things people say to me, serious misunderstandings with a teacher at school, getting attacked in broad daylight two blocks from home, feeling like I really don't belong here.
And here I am, feeling more at home and excited about what is happening at church. I'm also thrilled with our new friendships. How am I doing? I'm still fighting. And I'm growing... Growing spiritually and feeling a little stronger after one of the hardest years of my life.
Party Panic
Have you ever attended a party where you didn't know anyone?
Tonight I took Isaiah to a classmate's birthday party. I fully intended to drop him off and read a book in the car, but the girl's mom insisted that I come in and attend the party. I didn't know a single person! You may know that personally this would be hard for me in the US. Believe me, it's even harder for me in a new culture and language. As a missionary, and as a Christian, when someone invites me into their home and into their life, I enter in faith and pray that I'll be a blessing (even if I'd rather hide in a book).
Everyone was seated in a long outdoor patio, wide enough for a row of chairs on each side and a small walkway in the center. The parrilla was in the corner with a pile of burning wood stacked in the iron basket. The coals were just starting to fall through the basket, down onto the brick base. Soon the coals would be scraped underneath the grill.
By now, these are familiar sights and sounds. It also helped that everyone was inviting and gracious. They were curious, too, but in a friendly way. One guest asked me if I was from Germany. Nope! Guess again. Great Britain? Nope! My Spanish was a little sluggish because every time I opened my mouth to speak, I could feel everyone's eyes on me. (That's how Julia feels in her classroom, so she opted to sit in the front row so she can't see everyone turning around in their desks to look at her when she talks).
The girl's grandmom offered me plates of cheese, fainá, and alfajores, the girl's Mom refilled my drink and brought me a piece of cake, and her dad made me a grilled hamburger just the way I like it (with ketchup, lettuce and tomato). They were serving 40 people with the same attention and keeping the kids entertained with a bounce house and piñata. It was amazing. And their family and other guests kept refilling my Coke, talking with me, and making me feel welcome.
For me, the hardest part was leaving. Remember how I didn't know anyone? Well, if I wanted to leave the party gracefully, I would have to give everyone a cheek kiss. This is difficult for a quiet, reserved person. Since no one had left yet, I didn't have any examples to follow (I spend most of my life here playing follow the leader to learn how to do stuff). But I figured I could remember the rules. Skipping someone or kissing someone twice by mistake would be rude, so I would have to keep track of everyone. "Vamos," I thought, as I drank the rest of my Coke, shoved my napkin into the plastic cup and set it on the brick flower border behind my chair.
The girl's dad saw my empty cup right away and offered me another drink. "Gracias, pero me voy" I replied. Without another word, he left his post at the parrilla and darted inside to get his wife so she could say goodbye to me.
All the bending over, cheek kissing, saying "mucho gusto, que pase lindo, encantada," and turning around to repeat it again and again in the long narrow patio made me dizzy, but thankfully I wasn't wearing skinny heels or I would have landed in someone's lap. I left feeling loved and accepted despite my funny Spanish.
What a lovely family! I hope to offer this kindness to each person who walks into our church. I know I need to improve in this area as I often get sidetracked by serving in the background (like packing up the AV equipment or cleaning up the Sunday School classroom). I realize now that this could be considered quite rude. All the new greetings and farewells, new rules about entertaining, and the new variety of foods make hosting a little more complex. But I'm committed to doing my best in Jesus' name. The least I can do is make sure someone's cup is filled.
Tonight I took Isaiah to a classmate's birthday party. I fully intended to drop him off and read a book in the car, but the girl's mom insisted that I come in and attend the party. I didn't know a single person! You may know that personally this would be hard for me in the US. Believe me, it's even harder for me in a new culture and language. As a missionary, and as a Christian, when someone invites me into their home and into their life, I enter in faith and pray that I'll be a blessing (even if I'd rather hide in a book).
Everyone was seated in a long outdoor patio, wide enough for a row of chairs on each side and a small walkway in the center. The parrilla was in the corner with a pile of burning wood stacked in the iron basket. The coals were just starting to fall through the basket, down onto the brick base. Soon the coals would be scraped underneath the grill.
By now, these are familiar sights and sounds. It also helped that everyone was inviting and gracious. They were curious, too, but in a friendly way. One guest asked me if I was from Germany. Nope! Guess again. Great Britain? Nope! My Spanish was a little sluggish because every time I opened my mouth to speak, I could feel everyone's eyes on me. (That's how Julia feels in her classroom, so she opted to sit in the front row so she can't see everyone turning around in their desks to look at her when she talks).
The girl's grandmom offered me plates of cheese, fainá, and alfajores, the girl's Mom refilled my drink and brought me a piece of cake, and her dad made me a grilled hamburger just the way I like it (with ketchup, lettuce and tomato). They were serving 40 people with the same attention and keeping the kids entertained with a bounce house and piñata. It was amazing. And their family and other guests kept refilling my Coke, talking with me, and making me feel welcome.
For me, the hardest part was leaving. Remember how I didn't know anyone? Well, if I wanted to leave the party gracefully, I would have to give everyone a cheek kiss. This is difficult for a quiet, reserved person. Since no one had left yet, I didn't have any examples to follow (I spend most of my life here playing follow the leader to learn how to do stuff). But I figured I could remember the rules. Skipping someone or kissing someone twice by mistake would be rude, so I would have to keep track of everyone. "Vamos," I thought, as I drank the rest of my Coke, shoved my napkin into the plastic cup and set it on the brick flower border behind my chair.
The girl's dad saw my empty cup right away and offered me another drink. "Gracias, pero me voy" I replied. Without another word, he left his post at the parrilla and darted inside to get his wife so she could say goodbye to me.
All the bending over, cheek kissing, saying "mucho gusto, que pase lindo, encantada," and turning around to repeat it again and again in the long narrow patio made me dizzy, but thankfully I wasn't wearing skinny heels or I would have landed in someone's lap. I left feeling loved and accepted despite my funny Spanish.
What a lovely family! I hope to offer this kindness to each person who walks into our church. I know I need to improve in this area as I often get sidetracked by serving in the background (like packing up the AV equipment or cleaning up the Sunday School classroom). I realize now that this could be considered quite rude. All the new greetings and farewells, new rules about entertaining, and the new variety of foods make hosting a little more complex. But I'm committed to doing my best in Jesus' name. The least I can do is make sure someone's cup is filled.
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