Today's Missionaries - Do they connect or not?

Most missionaries no longer board a ship to leave their families forever and pack all their belongings in a wooden box (coffin) and head off to a mission field, one from which they will never return (that was old-school. Do people still say "old-school"?). 

Missionaries used to write their families a snail-mail letter and wait for a few weeks to months for their letter to arrive in their family's mailbox. Then they would wait to get a letter back a few weeks to months after that to receive a reply. Wow! Nothing was instant. 

Times have changed.

Now we can e-mail if we get near a larger city that has internet available - yes there are still places in the world that lack internet coverage and electricity and running water (where we will be stationed in West Africa for one).

Sure, we can take a plane and arrive in a matter of 24 hours sometimes, instead of 3 months at sea (like our container cargo which still takes to arrive even today). I much prefer jet-lag and a day of motion sickness to 3 months of sea-sickness!

Even so, there are lots of non-instant things to consider about living on the mission field. All food must be made from scratch (I'll save that explanation for another post).

Never-the-less, we are blessed. There is the possibility to connect with my mom, with you, with churches and partners. It's amazing how much technology has advanced to make this possible!

 Today, missionaries have access to many advances in technology that aid in making "leaving their comfort zone," well - slightly less abrasive.   Still, are they really connected??

Missionaries, in spite of all the other tasks they have to keep up with,

 now have to struggle to remain current. 

I'm currently researching online (while Stateside so it doesn't take forever to load). I search for how to make my blog be more compatible with mobile users because most people are moving in that direction. I don't want to lose contact.

We care about all our partners and we pray for them too. You are our lifeline - connection.

 It's hard for missionaries to stay in touch, and in spite of technological advances some connections are getting lost. 

Why?

• Some don't have e-mail - yes, there is still a generation (ones who don't read this blog either).
• Some no longer read e-mails because they get too much junk mail.
• Some only check Facebook - or twitter (still have to look into that, is it worth it?).
• Some people used to support our ministry until they lost their jobs, and then they feel bad and lose contact too. It's OK.
• Some just pass away. There is an older generation of church people that are very into missions that support us until they die. We're so thankful, but what do you do when they go home? 

How do we reach new friends and keep contact when we are miles away with spotty internet connections that we have to travel 4 hours to reach? The best way is through advocates. People, like you maybe, who share our need and our story and keep connected for us.

 Just wondering if there are any new advocates out there? Please write me. I appreciate your comments.

The Roller-Coaster Ride: A little thing called Language Learning

Ok, so I'm finding out a lot about myself through this whole "living in another culture" thing. For one, I am just beginning to understand certain basic things about myself. For example, I need to have more sleep, calm periods of the day, a way to connect with others on a deeper level, good snack foods, time listening to worship music, time to do something artistic, and a connection time with my hubby. (Add all that to a busy day and woah!) Some of these are things that I thought of as superfluous before. Now I am realizing that in order to function properly and to not have frequent moments of flipping-out-insanity, I really need these sorts of things. (OK that was a bit scary to share but feels good to have it off my chest.) Basically, I need a break and these are the things that are restful to me. I also find it AB-SO-LUTE-LY necessary to have a happy home. I am a much happier person when my kids are doing something constructive with their time. :-D *big toothy grin* It's a tough balance to be a mom and a student at the same time in another land, but I see with precision of focus now that my attitude affects my kids' moods.

The old saying rings true, "If momma ain't happy - ain't nobody happy." So I realized this past week that I was getting to my overloaded point in many areas. The kids were going crazy (Ethan is on vacation for 2 weeks and has a ton of energy to burn off at home now). Claire feeds off of Ethan's energy and creates her own.  Brent was beginning to be stressed with home duties while I took on a 5 days/week class load yet again. Language learning classes just happened to break the dam! It's just something that happens with me when I am not understanding the language and I am expected to perform in class. It's happened to me before when I took eight weeks of Thai. It's something that happens to people regularly when they are involved in language learning and cultural adjustment at the same time.

It's called stress.
Mine just happens to materialize in tears.

I broke down crying (mind you, silently) in class. I kept my composure as hot tears streamed down my face. My teacher noticed and talked to me in the hall. I told her it was not anything personal but that I did not understand a thing that she had just spent the past 10 minutes explaining. She had mentioned that we had seen the material the day before - we had not. I was overwhelmed. Silly little pronouns danced on my page as my tears blurred these tiny, yet so important, words. Words that I did not understand but desperately need to know. Turns out I was absent the day the basic pronouns were introduced and now we were learning more. It was confusing and it still is. Not sure I can use them properly on paper and much less so in speech.

It will come. Event...ually.
I will understand at some point.

I think the overwhelming part is that one day we will have to use this language to survive in AFRICA. Oh, yeah, and then learn another language that's not written down yet (yep, that means no books to learn the next language- no alphabet). So if I look at things like that it is mega-overwhelming.

Baby steps, Laura. You can do it.

Phil 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".

Focus.

Some days are really awesome and I seem to be getting it. French will start to flow out of my mouth like liquid and the people around me don't even hesitate - they seem to understand me. Yay!

Other days it feels like someone shoved a wad of black licorice the size of a golf ball in my mouth and told me to try to express my thoughts without spitting. I like black licorice, but in smaller quantities. And try talking with a mouth full of something you can't chew well! The words just won't come out right.

So there's these ups and downs in trying to speak another language. It's exhilarating and dizzying at the same time. I love it and then other times I get this sickening scared feeling in the pit of my stomach. (I think this is what people feel like when they are on a roller coaster. I've never actually been on one. I get motion sick so it's out of the question, but I've been on a flume ride with a big drop.) Days of success in communicating in French are awesome, like being at the peak of the hill - the top of the ride. *smile*

But look out for the drop!

At least I can expect to climb the next crest at some point until I get off this ride, but wait - I'm not planning on getting off this ride. Will it always be like this? No. At some point way in the future, it seems that I will plateau and not be able to learn any more French. Then it will be time for the next language.

Learning French like this is different than taking a foreign language course in high school or college. I actually have to go out an use what I learn to live here. The only break I get from it is if I am silent (doesn't always work - someone will try to ask you something). Oh, or if I am at home with my family, and still we try to speak in French, read books in French, watch TV in French, answer the phone in French, order pizza in French, go to the doctor in French, and so on... in French.

*SIGH* That felt good to share. It's a bit overwhelming at times to be here. Other times it is incredible! It is certainly nothing like a vacation. If it were I'd really need a vacation from it. It's daily life lived in a foreign land that's not too far removed from my own land though it is foreign to me at times. Keep us in your prayers as we're here, and consider the stretch it will be to be living daily life in a foreign land like Africa because that comes next. At least it is do-able: one day at a time - with the Lord's help. That's all I ask. :-)
Thanks for praying us through the drops.

Why did I start this blog? WHY?!?

I'm sitting with my laptop by the window in my third floor apartment in France (which I learned is actually the 4th floor for Americans- there's 0, 1,2,3...). I'm still in my pajamas watching the sunbeams burst through my space. I feel compelled to write on this blog even before eating breakfast this morning. I think this is strange because I personally detest technology that interrupts regular life. I also do not like extra time-commitments that I feel obligated to fulfill when I am already very involved with other things. Hence, it's odd that this is my desire for early morning. I like to consider early morning my quiet time. Since I consider most networking/communication tools as barrage of busyness against my brain and its natural rhythm of peaceful thoughts, blogging should not be what I want to do during my quiet time.

So WHY would I, of all people feel so compelled to Blog?

Why would someone like me want to Blog? There are many reasons, but I figure I must be excited about my blog since I regularly eat breakfast before doing anything else. My hubby calls me to the table to eat with the family & I am hesitant, but then I realize I am writing this blog mainly because I long to connect with people. So I relent and go to the table to eat because after all my family is here waiting, and you really aren't here until later when you choose to log on and read this blog.

I started out thinking this would be a good way to keep in touch with news about our family ministry (it will be) but I feel this blog is morphing into something more.


I miss connecting with people on a deeper level. It's hard here in a foreign land for someone like me who loves to chit-chat and to have heart-to-heart conversations with a good friend. I've been journaling on my computer to help ease the transition from the States to a foreign land. Although it is a first world country, France is foreign to me and comes with some culture shock and stress. Journaling is very therapeutic, so I thought why not journal on a blog?! Then people would be connecting with what I write. I realize this about myself now, I have a strong need for people to understand me - even just a handful of people in the world who understand my heart and the words flowing from it.

My attempts to make deep friendships here have been limited to my ability to speak well in French. Well, I went to a home group here last night with my family & for once realized that my husband was talking more than I was. This never happens - except for now it always happens here. I lack the language skills to connect with people in the way that I want. I can understand some and still, of course, not all of what people are saying. I lack the ability to verbalize in French what it is that's on my heart or to even tell people what my life is really like. How do I explain myself and our family goals, when all I can tell them in French is: what my name is, and how many kids I have, and that I am American? (That's progress for me - so bravo to language learning!) So therein lies the extent of any conversation I can have at this point. I think my teacher understands me a bit more than any other French person - God bless her! She tries very, very hard to understand my broken French and my misplaced English words in the middle of a sentence.

I struggle often with the question of why must I learn French, God? I was at a decent level of Spanish (that's what I studied in high school), and I was able to connect with people so well in Spanish - why couldn't I be called to Latin America? Ahh, but I know the answer to that and will not write about it here. None-the-less, French is beautiful, but it has so many rules and patterns of speech that I have not yet mastered and so I feel muted whenever I am around French speakers who don't also speak English. It's like someone has put duct tape across my mouth. I thought it would be easier for me to connect with this particular home group last night since the leaders were originally from Latin America and so their first language is Spanish - YAY, a way for me to connect! Alas, it is extremely trying to think of Spanish words in a room and world full of French - they say that this is a good thing that my Spanish is be drowned out by French. (Who is this elusive they? Who sets up the goals required for learning languages, I wonder.) I suppose it is a good thing that French is taking over in my mind, but it is extremely frustrating at this point. (I did have a dream all in French last night - I've been in France about a month, so I wondered when that would start happening.) This merge from English/Spanish to French will benefit me in the end though. Learning French is my goal for bigger and better reasons (*soft pensive smile*). Ahh, so I will need to still find ways to connect while doing so, and perhaps it will mainly be with you for a while. Thanks for lending an ear to a heart that hopes to be near other hearts wherever I am.

I like to think of this blog as the kitchen table of my life, where for a while I sit and share stories of laughter and tears with a dear friend. Welcome to my table.

Welcome to my table.