The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day…That Wasn’t

It should have been a terrible day. My teammates blew a tire on the highway in pouring rain. I had to work (on a Saturday). Michelle and Jacob are out of town. But it wasn’t a terrible day. It was a marvelous day! Because none of those unfortunate events even put a damper on what they each represent.

The blown tire was on a trailer containing the belongings of the Villanueva family. Raul Villanueva is coming to work in our Bible Institute. His wife, Alma is coming to direct the home for teenage mothers. Another teammate drove out to help bring them the rest of the way. Today is the day the Villanuevas moved across the country and joined our team!

Working on Saturday entailed helping my teammate, Seth lead a theological education class at our local church. It was the very first class of the first course in a series of 15. It was a joy to see and feel the excitement of the students as we start this process that will take around three years. Today is the day 25 church leaders began formal theological education!

Travelling three hours on a bus for an overnight baseball tournament just days after returning from Belgium was not Michelle’s idea of a weekend. But spending an extended amount of time with the other parents, dealing with vulgar opposing coaches, and cheering on each other’s children proved to be a uniting experience. Likewise, the trip allowed Jacob to turn acquaintances into true friends. Today is the day that Michelle fell in love with this team of players, coaches and parents and the day that Jacob REALLY became part of the team!

What a privilege to serve alongside so many wonderful people, to see the Lord at work in our churches and ministries, and to live in community.

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Calendar Girl: A Tale of Cultural Differences

Exactly two weeks ago today, Monday, September 2, 2013, we were registering Jacob at his new school.  I had sat through a day of classes with him and concluded that this was the school that would fit our needs as well as Jacob's.

We got home and realized we didn't have a school calendar in the mix of papers and still had a couple of questions. No problem.  We'll ask tomorrow.  Here's how the riveting conversation went:

Michelle: "Ms. Sanchez, we didn't get a school calendar.  Do you have one or should I ask the office?"
Ms. Sanchez: Ummmm, you will need to talk to the Preschool Principal."
Michelle: "Perfect. Thanks. Have a great day!"

I kissed Jacob goodbye and walked across the schoolyard and popped my head into the principal's office:

Michelle: "Good morning!  I was just talking to Ms. Sanchez and she said I could get a school calendar from you."
Principal: "A school calendar?"
Michelle: "Yes. With the start and end dates of the school year, holidays, Christmas break...??"
Principal: "Well, the teachers have calendars.  They are the only ones who receive calendars."

Amidst my shock and horror, I convinced myself to breathe. No calendar. Spasms. In my quick thinking, I mustered up the next question:

Michelle: "But how will I know when there are days off?"
Principal: "Oh! Don't worry!  We'll send a note home letting you know!"

Note: I may have a physcological problem when it comes to calendars.  I might be a little OCD when it comes to organization and dates.  The first thing I did after I unpacked our bags was take this beautiful pristine whiteboard at the house and turn it into a calendar and a menu plan. When I met my husband, I would go into convulsions at the the suggestion of going and doing something without making plans first..."but it's not on the calendar." I might also be American. 

Sure enough, we received the following note from Jacob after school on Friday, September 13, 2013 stating there would be no school today, Monday, September 16, 2013 OR tomorrow, Tuesday, September 17, 2013.  Nevermind it's dated Thursday, September 12, 2013 which would have given me 4 days notice instead of three. Also nevermind that the information is one sentence/the second paragraph:

The moral of the story: I should probably chill out.  I will chant what they taught us in cross cultural training, "It's not weird, it's not wrong, it's just different."  This calendar thing is definitely different for me.  In Costa Rica, when you made plans they would add, "If the Lord allows," or "If God wants."  Another phrase was, "What if it rains?"  This always brought James 4 to mind, so I'll leave you with that:

James 4:13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 

Out of the Mouth of Babes

If you are my friend on Facebook, you have probably seen some of the funnier things my three year old says. He makes me laugh all day. It's because he talks ALLLLLL DAY! It may be partially my fault, seeing that I have a speech pathology background. This translates into monitoring when he was producing plosives, glides, and now sibilants alongside of single words, two word phrases, multi-word phrases, sentences, sentences with conjunctions and so on.

Needless to say, we have been having child-like discussions about moving to Honduras. He does say some funny things. He recently asked if he could have a camel when we move to Honduras. He also talks to Asher about being "missionary kids" and how they will "love on people and share with them about Jesus being their friend." My favorite conversation was recently when he asked me if he could see a picture of "Honduran kids."

This is what I showed him:

Jacob's response: "OH MOM! They look JUST like me! They look like kids!"

While I don't know what he was anticipating, his response blessed my heart. As a mom who worries about her children's culture shock and how these blonde haired, blue eyed children will be received by other children, I exhaled a sigh of relief. I prayed that we would all see each other as the Lord sees us. Because I am certain He looks at the heart while man looks at the outward appearance. (1 Samuel 16:7)