Being Different

Today's post is a guest blog from one of my missionary mum friends, Joni Versteeg. I met Joni, her husband, Eduard, and their two oldest children (of which one was a new born at the time!) at All Nations, we were in the same Tutor Group. They are from Holland and are currently serving with International Teams in Albania. Joni was a missionary kid herself before becoming a missionary mum and so has a great understanding of living life, being 'different' in a new culture.

You may not know this, but if you are a missionary mom like me, you are green. 

I can’t stop thinking about the face of the lady in the bakery down the street. Every time she sees me walk towards the shop, she get’s this scared, worried look on her face. I know I can’t put words into her mouth, but I can almost hear her think…"Oh no, here she comes again. Why does this woman always buy 5 loaves of bread? It will definitely cause a cue and it makes me stressed. Doesn’t she know that all normal people just buy one loaf at the time?"

We are different ...

As an MK (Missionary Kid) I can remember wanting to just blend in especially during furlough. I didn’t want to be different, I didn’t want to stand out, I wanted to be NORMAL.  

It brings a smile to my face when I think about that day in the village. I can’t quite remember what we were celebrating, but we had a party and of course people were dancing, because after all what is an Albanian party without dancing?! I was so proud of myself for joining in. I was the only foreigner among them and I thought I was doing so well. I got all the steps down and was able to keep up. Until at one point the guy next to me looks at me and says; ‘It doesn’t matter Joni, you’ll learn …’  

We are different …

Eduard does the dishes and looks after the kids when I am out of the house. I drive the car to and from the village (I remember the time when all the boys came and watched me turn the car around). Our kids don’t go to the local school …

We are different … 

We do try to fit in in the Albanian culture as well as we can. The greatest compliment they can give me is that they think I’m Albanian (they usually think I’m an Albanian who has lived outside of the country for a while, because of my accent). To be honest I think most of our Albanian friends would agree that we fit in pretty well. We can speak the language, we do the traditional visits and we know that we are supposed to wish them a happy wedding for their kids as we raise our glass. 

But even so, in the end we are different. 

We are green. Let’s say our home culture represents the colour blue and the hosting culture represents the colour yellow. What do you get when those two meet? That’s right: A whole different colour, a whole different ‘normal’: green. 

My prayer is that the people around us can see past the cultural differences and that they can see that there is something else that is different about us. If you read Ephesians 4:20 in Dutch, it says: but you are different, you have gotten to know Christ! I love that kind of different! I’m so happy that different can be positive.

Crazy Life

Today, I have this month's guest post. I have known this missionary mum since 2005 and have lots of fun and happy memories hanging out with her, when we were both single gals with a heart for mission! She met her husband in the same place as I did and is living on the same continent as I am right now. Given the sensitive nature of her families work with Reach Across, working amongst the Muslim community and for 28 Too Many that is as detailed as I am able to get. She has a gorgeous little daughter (see below) and as of last week a brand new son too! Today she writes for me (during a time of uncertainty for us) about a time of uncertainty that her family have had to work through over the last couple years.

Almost exactly a year ago we were evacuated from our country. We were ordered to leave when the political situation meant that foreign nationals were perceived to be at high risk of kidnapping and being caught in any potential conflict.

We had arrived for our first term as missionaries only 4 months earlier with our then 7 month old. We had started language acquisition, getting to know neighbours, culture, house decorating, getting furniture ... all the usual stuff you do when you move somewhere new. I was so excited to finally be where I thought would be "home". I had waited a long time for this. This was where we would be for a good many years, where our kids would grow up, where we would make a life as a family.

It was a roller coaster ride leaving under such stressful circumstances, not knowing for how long, or if we would ever be able to return. The good road out of the country was deemed off limits as it was too close to a 'high-risk' area so we did a 24 hour detour which involved a night on a church floor and some pretty hairy terrain (that was the most fun in those crazy days of packing and travelling to our temporary home in the neighbouring country, especially as I was driving the roughest bit!).

So we eventually arrived at our temporary home and were stuck in limbo for about 5 months. It was a pretty difficult time emotionally and spiritually. The relentless mosquitos were also pretty annoying but the location was nice and at times I was able to really enjoy that aspect of our situation.

Disappointed? Confused? Angry? Frustrated? Lost? You name the emotion, I am pretty sure I felt it.

I couldn't understand why we were going through all this. We had worked so hard to get there. Bible school, learning French (our bridge language), raising the money to go. We had felt all along that it was God's will and he had made it all pretty straightforward even easy at times. So what was this all about? And what about my little girl? This surely couldn't be good for her. As a new Mum I was new to the feelings of utter responsibility for a little person and wanted to do all I could to protect her.

So things seemed pretty bleak at times to be honest. I was really unhappy and felt guilty for not being able to do the ministry we were being supported to do as well as all the other issues I have touched upon.

We returned to our country (not our town yet) in June and have settled in the city for a while, mostly because baby number 2 will be arriving very soon!

The first few weeks were strange and I came to realise that since the evacuation I had been super protective over our daughter, which I also realised was more for me than for her! I had had zero control over most things in my life for so long that the only thing I could control was her routine. This is not very African! So I told myself to suck it up and start embracing life here the way I had planned. Being flexible and as African as possible. Life is short and was not going to be fun if I put limits on our life in that way. Good decision!

So what's happening now? Well, as I said it's one year on. A lot has changed. I have changed. We have changed as a family. I have learnt a lot and been reminded of many things I learnt at Bible school which I know will help me in the long term and I hope will enable me to support others who go through similar situations in the future. 

The life of a missionary can be stressful and a very steep learning curve (and wonderful!!)

The life of a mum can be stressful and a very steep learning curve (and wonderful!!)

The life of a wife can be stressful and a very steep learning curve (and wonderful!!)

We live in constant transition.

Home is not necessarily one physical place. It IS one spiritual place.

Expect the unexpected.

Kids are way more resilient than we give them credit for!

Hold on to material things lightly. It's great to make your house a home, but we have to recognise that it may not be home for as long as we hope or expect.

Our plans don't always work out the way we expect. God has really surprised me in how he has used our time in the big city to be really useful despite it seemingly slowing down all our other plans.

There are a ton of other things I could write and even more that I'm sure will come to me later but I hope this may be of use to someone in a similar situation at some point.

It's a crazy life we lead. But I know I wouldn't change it for the world.

Sanity Saver

This month's guest post comes from a missionary mum right here in Dodoma. Naomi Jones and her husband are here serving with SIM (Serving in Mission) Australia and are originally from Melbourne. While Andrew is involved in Entrepreneur Training, Naomi is using her background in Family Psychology in both school and hospital settings. They have four children. Today Naomi shares how to survive the sometimes hard slog of being a missionary and a mum here in Dodoma!

I have lived here in Dodoma, Tanzania with my husband and 4 children for almost eighteen months now.  Amongst the many pieces of helpful information I was given before we came (and again on arrival) was that if we wanted to stay even a little sane while on the mission field, we needed to bring some of our hobbies with us.

It felt like obvious advice at the time; of course we would try to fit into our daily schedules time for leisure/fun/relaxation as we had always done. But on arriving here the truth began to settle. Life in Tanzania can often feel like a “hard slog” and lots of daily tasks are time consuming and tedious. This, combined with the very real and endless needs of the people around us, can sometimes make leisure time and associated activities feel a little too decadent. 

I began by assessing my options. My “sanity saver” of choice has always been exercise; surely a simple activity to pursue in Dodoma I hear you say? Well not exactly! Swimming was ruled out first. The nearest “lap” pool is out of town and too far away to visit in between work and school commitments. The local hotel boasts a gym on it’s website which I was quite excited about until I saw it in the flesh. Not so much as a gym as a room with some old equipment lying around waiting to be repaired. Exercising outdoors is do-able if you don’t mind the (usually unwanted) attention, the uneven surfaces and the inescapable heat factor. Fast losing inspiration, I was spurred on by friends and family at home who reminded me how much enjoyment I used to get from these activities back home. At that point, I mustered up some courage, put aside my inhibitions and made do with what Dodoma had to offer!

I can truly say now, that exercise has acted as a “transition object” for me in the time we have been here. It is something familiar and predictable in a place where not much else is. When life feels overwhelming, I know that I can count on running to give me the usual endorphin rush, or on walking up a mountain to give me the same sense of peace that it always has. I believe that God wants us to engage in the activities that we love and that are “life-giving” while we are here on the mission field, without feeling guilty. Sure, it is a more challenging task at times, and sometimes it may even involve asking others for help with say, childcare, but at the end of the day it is truly worth it!

What do you need?

As a Missionary Kid (MK) in India, an overseas missionary in South America, a missionary back in the States, a mother and a grandmother ... today's guest blog comes from someone who more than qualifies to write something for The Missionary Mum! Rena Jarboe is the wife of the President and CEO of MMS Aviation in Ohio (where Mark trained as an aircraft engineer), where they have both served faithfully for many decades. She is kept busy with numerous tasks within MMS and the community but today she shares some thought's on the needs of a missionary kid.

Philippians 4:19 says, “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory.”

Many refer to the above verse as God supplying material needs. While this is true, I would like to suggest other “needs” in the missionary and MK setting. Some say missionary kids are deprived of many things. I beg to differ. My life was rich.

When someone answers God’s call to leave home and family and go to another country to serve Him there is a need for confidence and peace of mind that the move is indeed God’s call.

Family members left behind have deep concerns and need this confidence and peace also. Parents can be anxious for their son/daughter and wonder if they will be safe, healthy and have a fruitful ministry. There is concern as grandparents say goodbye to grandchildren. The fear of dangers and unknown diseases—some real, some imagined—that lurk in foreign lands come to mind as they send them off.

I was born in India to missionary parents. They left America in 1947, to go to an unfamiliar part of the world, knowing that they would not see family for six and a half years (they ended up serving twenty years in India). During that first term I was born, as was my brother, Billy, two years later. 

There was a need for safety from harmful things like snakes and scorpions. In our village setting during the first term, Dad killed many poisonous snakes. None of us were ever bitten. The Lord woke up my Mom more than once in the middle of the night, only to find a scorpion under my bed, which she would dispose of. My brother and I had a close encounter with a 30 foot python. I had a scary moment with a cobra in the bathroom of a friend’s home—and the list could go on. God’s protection was evident. 

There was a need for medical care. Our little village of Ghatkesar had a small clinic where some medicines were available. One night when I was two I developed a severe asthma attack. Being an asthmatic himself, Dad immediately recognized the symptoms. It was frustrating to get the medical worker to open the clinic in the middle of the night in order to get a vial of needed medication. We’re confident God intervened and Dad got the medicine and gave me the injection I needed. (Who knew that his training as an Army Medic would be put to good use in this way!) There are other providential medical provisions too numerous to mention here.

There is a need for family. As a missionary kid, I had an abundance of missionary Aunties and Uncles. It wasn’t until I met my relatives at age four, that I learned to discern between real Aunties and Uncles and my missionary ones. Having cousins, however, was a new concept. To this day, I keep in touch with missionary “relatives” (though many have passed away) and I cherish my memories with them. I also have a special Indian Uncle and Auntie, with whom I am still in contact. My life was and is rich.

There is a need for an education. While home schooling is a popular option these days, those curriculums were not available in the 50s and 60s. I received a good education in a British Boarding School for missionary children. While the separation from my parents was not easy (it was hard for them too), I had an abundance of friends from many different countries. It has been fun to reconnect with many of them recently, through Facebook!

Material needs were something that as a child, did not concern me. However, God provided for my parents. Their sending church took on their entire support for the first six years. Following a change in pastors, it was discontinued during their first furlough. God provided others to fill that need. Our living conditions during the first term in India were quite primitive with no electricity or water pumped to the house. On our first furlough, my brother and I were fascinated with light switches, flushing toilets, escalators, Christmas lights, etc. I think we drove our Grandparents to distraction those first few weeks as we flipped light switches and turned on taps and flushed the toilet numerous times just to see the water swirl and go down!

Only as an adult did I begin to appreciate my unique childhood. I remember on furloughs I just wanted to blend in, and not be noticed as an MK and someone different. This is quite normal. However, now I understand my childhood was something very special. I’ve lived in places with exotic names, such as Ghatkesar, Bhongir, Secunderabad and Coonoor! Not many can say they have traveled by ship multiple times from one side of the world to the other (it took a month). We had a pet monkey and our friends had a pet hyena. I have ridden on an elephants, camels and bicycle rickshaws and have watched snake charmers and scorpion charmers. I’ve seen work elephants in our yard being watered from our well—something quite scary for a three year old, but memorable. God provides unique blessings and experiences to missionary kids. I am grateful to be an MK.

Nowadays I feel the need for good Indian food once in a while and a daily cup of chai.

The Best Thing

This month's guest post is from another missionary mum and MAF wife, Sarah Newnham, living in East Africa (like me!), but this time in Kampala, Uganda. Sarah and her husband, also Mark, went through the MMS programme in Ohio just like we did and have already completed the required 8 years service with MAF following that. I'm pleased to say they have chosen to continue their service with MAF. We had the chance to meet them/hang out with them/pick their brains (!!) with their eldest 2 children a few years ago when they revisited the MMS programme. Today she shares some thoughts living on the mission field both as a child herself and as a mother. You can read their family blog here.

I am a Missionary Mum but I am also an MK (missionary kid). I think we are often misunderstood and no one fully understands where we are coming from, except other MK’s. One thing that can usually be said about us is that we grow up with transition and the feeling that no one place is quite ‘home’. At the age of 22, I had lived in around 30 houses.

So in 2000, just a year after getting married, when Mark & I began our journey into missions I think I envisaged that life would continue to be one of transitions. That was OK. I enjoyed going to new places, meeting new people and travelling and after all, the other name for MAF is ‘Move Again Friend’! 

We lived in Ohio, USA for three years while Mark trained as an aircraft engineer and we then began serving with MAF in Uganda in 2005. I really thought that after a few years we would be moving on to a new location, but here we are eight years later, still living in Uganda. 

Why? The simple answer is that this is where God wants us to be and we don’t yet feel he is asking us to move. However, there are several reasons and this lack of transition has not always been easy for me to deal with. I am an MK/third culture kid after all … moving is what I am good at. The thought of moving home, particularly to another country, may fill most of you with fear and anxiety but I find it quite exciting. 

Several years ago, we were offered the opportunity to move. I would have loved to go, as the post on offer would have taken us to the country where my parents were serving as missionaries. How wonderful it would be to live near my mum and dad but Mark was not ready for all the new role would entail. How I willed it to be different and yet, deep down I knew I had to accept what was best for Mark. He needed to gain more experience here in Uganda. 

One of the best things that has come out of living in Uganda is that this is where two of our children come from. Mark & I were unable to have our own children and God blessed us with two amazing children that we have adopted here. Amy & Joshua are now 7 and 6 years old. Just last year we had a biological child, Abigail. They are each miracles in their own way but that is another whole story in itself! 

While I cope well with transition, we have one child in particular who does not. I may struggle to think of anywhere as ‘home’ but this is most definitely ‘home’ for Amy & Joshua. Uganda is the country they come from, the only place they have ever lived and it has become clear to us how important it is for them in building their identity that they know something of this beautiful country and culture for themselves. They are one of the reasons we have not moved on. 

There are times that it seems like a sacrifice for me to stay in one place but I realise that God is doing it for a couple of reasons ... 

It is the best thing for my whole family right now. As a mum, I want what is best for my children and right now that is stability. God wants what is best for us and a happy/well adjusted family will last far longer on the mission field. 

It is the best thing for me. I have realised that it is tough staying in one place. It is simply easier for me to be the one who moves on to new places and challenges but staying put and being the one left behind is hard for me. I have had to say many good byes to close friends and colleagues this year. I still grieve at times but God wants me to grow in this area of trusting him when I am the one left behind. The experience is drawing me closer to the One who remains the same and is always there, Jesus, and I am thankful for this season of my life in which God is teaching me to make transitions, in terms of building new friendships and finding new things to do even when I am still in the same location.

The "Long-Term" Missionary

Today I want to introduce you to a friend that I have got to know since returning to Tanzania. Rachel Morgan works for SIL translating the Bible here in Dodoma, in the Rangi language. (In fact, her offices are right next door to our house!) She is from America, married to an Englishman, they have a gorgeous 3 year old son who is from Taiwan and they all live and work as missionaries in Tanzania. A truly international family! Rachel is a self-proclaimed blog stalker but doesn't write one of her own. Today however I managed to convince her to write a post for me!

The single most challenging thing I face as a missionary is the constant flux of people who come in and out of my life. I have been a missionary in Tanzania for almost 6 years and that is definitely considered a “long term” missionary where we live. I can’t even count the number of close relationships that I have developed in those 6 years. However, sadly, most of those people are no longer living here in Tanzania and some are no longer missionaries. You are probably asking, “why are so many people coming and going.” I think the answer to that is that being a missionary is hard. It is hard being away from family and the culture you are familiar with. It is hard working with people who have a different worldview and language.

There are 3 types of missionaries:

1. Short-termers - These are the people who come for 2 weeks - 1 year. I enjoy this group of people as it adds a bit of flavor and social variety to the scene. These people I enjoy because they are so passionate about what they come to do and find it all such an adventure. These people are full of questions and I love showing them the ropes of culture and language. However, lately I find myself wondering whether or not I should invest in those friendships given they are going to leave.
2. Planned Career Missionaries - There are people who, for one reason or other aren’t able to stay long-term. This is the most challenging group of people for me. These are the missionaries who say they will stay for many years and then suddenly, they leave. The reasons for leaving are vast: illness, stress, broken relationships, challenges in working with national partners. These are the people that I go deep with fast and then end up feeling a tremendous loss when they leave. These people are committed to the work but circumstances change for them and they have to leave.
3. Long Term Missionaries - These are the people who stay for 5+ years. The interesting thing about this group of people is, that it's the people you don’t think will stay for a long time. Often this group of people struggle a lot up on arrival, but end up staying for a long time.

I am a self proclaimed extrovert. I absolutely love being with people and despise being alone. The challenge for me is the pain I feel when people leave. I keep telling myself I won’t get close to people unless they are long term but I never know if they will be.

Fortunately missionary friends are not the only friends I have, I also have a few very close Tanzanian friends. These relationships sustain me in a lot of ways. God provides for us with “family” when we don’t have our families near us.

I think it is important for friends and family back “home” to understand what their missionary friends feel about relationships. We love our friends back home, and yet we feel so far away from them. Cards, packages, and emails mean so much to missionaries.

To brighten their day, send an email of encouragement to your missionary friends. It will cross the distance and encourage them in so many ways!

Going Home

Today's missionary mum was actually the mother of one of my Standard One students when I was living in Dodoma before. Jean's husband, Andrew, worked for MAF as the Flight Operations Manager and then Quality Manager. They have three boys and moved to Tanzania from Scotland, living in a house a couple of doors down from where we are now! Their family then moved on with MAF to Nairobi, Kenya, where our paths crossed briefly again in 2006. They completed their service with MAF after almost 11 years, returning to Scotland about 2 years ago. Today Jean shares her thoughts about 'Going Home' after living in Africa for such a long time.

From the day we arrived in Africa we knew that one day we would leave and ‘go home’. When our time to go home arrived, it was a little unexpected and sudden. Our eldest son, Andrew J was leaving school, I had a sense of calling to train as a Minister and it seemed as if all of a sudden, our time with MAF in Africa was up. 

It was a hard decision and an even harder call to follow but when we made the decision to follow God’s calling for this part of our lives, we had a huge peace about. We had no jobs to return to at ‘home’; Andrew J was unsure where he would go to University, the younger two boys, Fraser and Iain would have to change schools and we had no certainty our home would be free to move back into. By faith we trusted God’s leading and arrived a little bit dazed and a little bit uncertain, back ‘home’.

That was 2 years ago. The tenants moved out of our house and although the house needs a lot of work to it (even after being back 2 years!) we are living again in the family home in Inverness. Andrew, after eight months of temporary part-time work got a full-time permanent job – working in a similar role as he had enjoyed so much in Africa. Andrew J got a place at University and is now about to start his 3^rd year and has a part-time job to help fund the course. Fraser and Iain have both settled well into life in school and life here in Scotland.

Me – it’s been by faith! I completed the assessment and selection process with the Church of Scotland and am starting my second year as a Candidate in Training for Ministry of Word and Sacrament. At times it seems like a dream, having been to Africa and having come home. It is like a dream too, to continue to be with our Lord, still believing and being in his care.

It was in some ways harder to come home than to go to Africa. On return, many of our friends had moved on in so many ways and it seems as if we have started all over again living here. Despite this, we have seen God’s faithfulness to us, experienced his promise not to leave us and felt his blessings to us in so many different and unexpected ways.

We often reminisce as a family about our time in Africa, people we met, issues we faced, laughs we had. We find this hard to share with others outside the family, perhaps because so often we feel misunderstood and it is so difficult to share ‘our time’ with MAF. They are precious memories and a big part of our lives and our life as a family. We will treasure them always and who knows; perhaps God will send us back there some time.

We Wait

Today I would like to introduce you to Ingrid, a fellow missionary mum. This mum is a little different from the other one's who have shared on the blog so far, as I have never actually met her. Like many other of my readers, she found The Missionary Mum while searching on the internet. She is married to a Brit, has two sons and they are currently preparing to move from New Zealand to work in the highlands of Papua New Guinea as a family. Right now they are in a time of waiting for visas, just like us. Ingrid also writes her own blog at Jeans and Pink Jandals. 

For many the call to the mission field is a call to sacrifice, isolation, hardship, blessing, faith, and patience. Some I know have prepared and waited years and years to go after they were called. Some wait for Government departments or visa’s for months, in our case for a pitiful 5 months and it feels like torture. December 2012, we were called. January 2013, we visited. February 2013, we were invited and said yes, and now we wait. 

We live in a state of limbo. Drawn to a place we want to be, a place we believe God wants us to be, yet still having to live our lives in the country we call home. And still we wait. Our mission agency policy isn’t to pay bribes, they feel called to be counter cultural to the corruption that exist within this developing country. And I agree, in theory, but in practise, I just want to get there. I don’t want them to pay bribes either, but this waiting is hard.

As we started this year, we were so full of excitement at what this year would hold, and after months of not hearing anything, and knowing this tick we are wanting from the government is only the first of many, the excitement is waning. Our expectations went from 8 weeks to get there, to months and months of excruciating waiting. Our friends who have been there, smile and tell us this is good training for life in a developing country, learning patience, understanding corruption, knowing nothing happens in a hurry. This is our training ground. 

With our call still fresh and our excitement waning, I searched in my concordance to seek what the Word of God said about the word ‘wait’. What I unearthed was food for a hungry soul and hydration for drying lips.

• Psalm 27:14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! 
• Psalm 37:7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! 
• Psalm 38:15 But for you, O LORD, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer. 
• Psalm 62:5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.
• Isaiah 40:31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
• Habakkuk 2:3 For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end--it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.

Our call is to obedience, and as the Word says, we wait for the appointed time, we can trust as the LORD is the author of time. Just because we are to ‘fret not’, be patient and hope in Him, doesn’t make it easy, it only makes it do-able.

If you are a missionary mum and would also be interested in contributing an article, please contact me at beckwithsbigadventure@live.com

Oops!!

The observant among you will noticed I missed a post on Monday!

My excuse? ... I completely forgot!! My reason? ... Our container finally arrived totally out of the blue on Sunday morning and I have been working like a machine ever since trying to sort through it all and finally get our house looking like a home!

All the emotions I had anticipated on the arrival of the container were completely blown out the window by the sheer surprise of hearing a truck and voices at 8am on a Sunday morning while the whole family were sitting around in their pyjamas!!! It arrived with absolutely no warning whatsoever that it had even left Dar Es Salaam. Believe me it was the best surprise to wake up to though!

So in lieu of a proper post I will send you via a link to a friends blog that I recently had the opportunity to do a guest post on at The Meaning of Go. (Eluned was the first Missionary Mum to do a guest post for me!)

I make absolutely no apologies if you don't hear from me again until next week ... it's just way too exciting opening all these boxes!!!

Are We There Yet?

Today I want to introduce you to another great friend and Missionary Mum. I met Kristin when our husbands trained together at MMS Aviation. We arrived (and left) within a few months of each other. In many ways we are on the same journey and in other ways our stories are completely different. I am so grateful that our paths crossed when they did, we have shared lots of giggles as well as lots of struggles together and as Naomi's other fairy god-mother, I am pleased to say she will forever remain part of my life! Kristin, her husband and three sons are in the process of joining JAARS a mission based in North Carolina.

Are we there yet?

How many times have we heard that from our children as we travel down the road? Annoying, right? This time I find it’s me whining to my heavenly Father, “This is taking forever. When will we get there? I can’t stand it.” 

Eight months ago we finished our assignment at MMS Aviation. We were eager to get our hands dirty and put to use all that we had learned over our 3 years in Ohio. It was in our hearts to move our family to North Carolina and pursue service with JAARS, an organization that provides practical day to day support (aviation, land transportation, water transportation, information technology, and media) to Bible translators working all over the globe giving the Word of God to people in their own heart language. We prayed, sought wise counsel, and decided to go for it. 

Thus began the process… 

We found a house to rent and hurried back to Ohio to pack our things, cheerfully saying our goodbyes and boldly moving ahead. We set up house. Paul volunteered in the hangar for 2 months and I worked to settle the children and start back to homeschooling. We all began to make friends and find activities we enjoyed. Things were off to a good start. 

January brought another round of exams for Paul, 10 days of oral and practical examination to see if he has the skills to work effectively on the mission field. It was challenging and exhausting but Paul passed (only by God’s grace according to him) and we were offered an position here at the JAARS headquarters where he would start as a mechanic and eventually participate in research and development projects that would utilize his previous aerospace and mechanical engineering experience. Sounds great, right? 

On to the next step… 

Full time missionaries working in aviation at JAARS are expected to join a mission organization, specifically Wycliffe Bible Translators. That means going through a process that includes written applications, interviews for both us and the children, budget projections, administrative details and lots of decision making. We began in February and signed as members of Wycliffe in early May. 

What that means is… 

Now it is June. In August, we will begin a time of training and partner development with Wycliffe that can last for up to two years. The rule is for us to work on that exclusively. This potentially means no airplanes for Paul for the next 18 months. It means Paul working from home with all of us doing school at home. We think it will mean time apart as Paul travels to see our supporters alone. We also think it will mean travel and school on the road together with two teenagers and a very talkative eight year old. Can anyone say “Aaaahhhhggggg”… 

Here’s another sticky detail. Throughout the process, our monthly financial support has been at least $1,000 shy of meeting our needs and yet we have not gone into debt and we are not begging for bread. Wow, right? 

So this is our way forward, narrow and “pinchey” as it may be. Would I choose it? Of course not. But I will walk it, with God’s grace and help. 

May I share with you what has become my life verse? “So work with fear and trembling to discover what it really means to be saved. God is working in you to make you willing and able to obey Him.” Philippians 2:13 (CEV) 

As He is faithful, may we be found faithful - regardless of the hurdles, regardless of the time investment, regardless of the questions.

Signing Up For Change

Today I want to introduce you to one of the Missionary Mum's that I have had the chance to get to know since we moved to Dodoma. Liz is English and a primary school teacher back at home. Her husband is from South Africa and is one of the MAF pilots based here in Dodoma. They have 3 children, Joel is in Naomi's circle of friends, Ben is in Abigail's class and Esther who is only a little bit older, is another friend that Abigail enjoys playing with! Liz writes her own blog 'Tales from Tanzania' too, all about the adventures her family are having which includes insights of what day-to-day life actually means to all of us here in Tanzania but today she write for me ...

As a starry-eyed newly-wed back in the UK in 2003, I had no idea what I had signed up for, as my new husband and I agreed that we wanted to serve God together. How could I realise back then what kind of an exciting, but at times terrifying, roller-coaster-ride God had planned for us?

At that time, we were living in central London, I was enjoying a full-time teaching job, great social life, wonderful church and was within easy reach of family, I had no idea that within 9 months, Andrew and I would be homeless, jobless and facing an uncertain future in a far-flung country! I had to learn that God is a God of surprises- opening up unforeseen opportunites and leading us on adventures far beyond any I would ever have imagined!

A few months into our marriage, Andrew and I had responded to a call at our London church, St Michael's Chester Square, to commit ourselves to follow God- whatever or wherever He may lead us to. Around the same time, we were praying seriously about a new career path for Andrew, a change from the office jobs that had made up his working life to this point. So it should not have been too big a shock when a MAF magazine plopped through our letterbox "out of the blue"- randomly redirected from an old student address I had once had. Andrew picked it up. He had never heard of MAF, so he was surprised to learn about their ministry. "Look at this" he said, "a way to serve God with a practical career! I think this is something I could do...."

And the rest, as they say, is history!

We left our home and jobs in London and went to South Africa where Andrew trained as a pilot and built up a further 2 years work experience. We moved back to the UK to apply to MAF in 2009, were accepted and moved to Tanzania later that year. This path to serving with MAF has been full of change. In our 9 years of marriage, we have lived in 8 different homes over 3 different countries, gradually adding more family members on the way! We were relieved to "settle" down in Dodoma and enjoy being part of the missionary community with our 3 children.

However, I have discovered that living in one place as a 'Missionary Mum' does not rule out change! Being part of the caring missionary community in Dodoma means that friendships we build often run deep: our friends become like family as we support one another in a foreign culture, far, far away from our actual families. Then, one day, your friends announce that they are leaving - our lovely next-door neighbours moved to Uganda, another family who had become very close to us moved to Sweden, another family to America and another good friend moved on to Kenya ... We cried and we grieved. It seemed unlikely we would see them again. 

God, in His mercy, sent new families here - so we all adjusted, our children have bonded with new friends and as Mums, we enjoy being together with our kids and as families. We are grateful to count Jenny, Mark, Abigail and Naomi as our new friends and were so excited to welcome them here! But now I am conscious that my own time in Tanzania is limited and one day, our family will be the ones to move on, probably to another country, as the need for pilots varies from place to place. More change. It will be painful: it will be scary: in other ways, it will be exciting. The only certainty we can really count on as Missionary Mums with MAF is this fact: Nothing Stays the Same!

For this reason, I am learning the great value of the verse below. Within this life of change that I signed up for all those years ago, there IS one true constant - my Best Friend and my anchor: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever." Hebrews 13 v.8.

Transition

Today I have a guest blog to share with you ... with a difference. Many missionaries work in situations where it is not always safe to reveal their identity or the true work that they are involved in and these situations they are in can change at moments notice. Studying at All Nations, I had the opportunity to make friends with people called to all types of mission work and today's guest post is from someone in this position. Both she and her husband are professionals in their own right and they have three boys under the age of 10. Here's is a glimpse into their past year which didn't go at all how they had planned.

All Nations Christian College

Transition is not a word I used much before preparing and going overseas. It’s one I’ve had a lot of reasons to think about over the past year especially. 

When we went out to South Asia with 2 children under 2, I knew that adjustments were going to be greatest for us adults. We left close family and friendships behind, we were used to certain freedoms and opportunities that now were not available, we were the ones who needed to get used to new routines involving purifying water, sterilizing fruit and veg before eating it, removing large spiders from very basic bathrooms before using them, and many other new experiences. Our boys mainly continued in a similar routine with Mum and Dad around them as before, it was just that the food got a bit spicier and the weather a whole lot warmer!

But 5 years later it was a different story. There was now a no. 3 who was toddler age, but all his life he had known a 3^rd adult in the house most of his waking hours – our hardworking and faithful house-helper who loved our boys to bits and took great care of them at the times we were both out at work.

Nos. 1 and 2 now had their own friends, local friends from preschool and school, and ex-pat friends we met up with for fellowship and fun times – like cooling off together in the heat at a local pool we had access to. This was their home. Our home, England, was just a place of visits and holidays, time out from the ordinary. For our children ‘ordinary’ was the colour and dust and bustle of a sprawling developing world city, ‘ordinary’ was having school closures for the next day announced at 11pm (on TV channels we didn’t watch!) due to unrest in the city, ‘normal’ was donkey carts and camels on the road alongside crowded public buses and smart shiny 4x4s of the city elite.

And then in the space of 2 weeks our world was turned upside-down by the cancellation of our visas and the instruction to leave. It was time to go through transition again, but this time there was very little time to prepare, and whilst we needed to help our boys through it we were in bits ourselves over what was happening.

Today as I write this it is a year to the very day since we received news that we had to leave the country we had grown to love. And three weeks ago we sold our house in a leafy London suburb to move to a very South Asian area just a few miles down the road, where we have seen God lead us over recent months. Moving house is said to be one of the most stressful things you can do – because, I think, it involves a lot of change and uncertainty. We certainly experienced some of that with this move. However, harder still for us was leaving what was our home in South Asia so quickly, and so against our will. Time for goodbyes was short, opportunities to do special things as a family one last time were very limited as we raced to sort, pack, sell and give away all we had. And returning to the UK with no plans, no hopes and nowhere permanent to live was a great example of how not to ‘do transition’ if you can possibly help it!

Alongside being a mum I’m also a GP. I’m used to hearing about a problem and formulating a plan, an approach to it. As a mum helping my boys deal with all the changes the past year has brought, I’ve learnt that there needs to be more than one treatment option – in fact each of us needs a personalised treatment plan in tough times like major change.

My eldest (8) I think found it the hardest – he had friends he’d known since he was 2, some really special friends, but at 7 as he was then you don’t really do much more than hug when you say goodbye. For a while he would get really upset, angry even, over little incidents, minor injustices between him and his brother, or him and the rest of the world, it all just hurt. And efforts to help him process sadness through drawing pictures (which he usually loves) or reviewing photos he refused to do – I think it was just too painful. Occasional chats about things we did or friends we had, as they were relevant to what we were doing, seemed an easier way to re-live those times for him. It felt a real breakthrough to hear him say just a month back how he’d like to go back and visit his friends one day – the first time he has expressed a desire to return.

No. 2 (then 5, now 6) actually really went for the picture drawing, he could go to those places and draw on the good times. He had most enthusiasm for sending a UK postcard to friends back in our city. But he too had his moments, an increase in the times he would overreact, breakdowns into uncontrollable sobs when things didn’t go his way. I found this a real challenge as a parent with very limited resources in the patience department at the time, still in my own wilderness.

And no. 3 (then 15 months, now 2yrs) who had always been secure, confident and a fantastic sleeper, became oh so clingy. It’s taken a good length of time for him to be happily without Mum and Dad, and in the first few months of frequent changes of location, staying in many different friends’ and family’s houses, he would often wake at strange times and need us around to settle him like never before. It took me a long time to see things from his perspective, to realise that his life had always involved 3 significant adults with our house-helper around as well, and suddenly she was gone. There had been no explanation that he could grasp, no gradual change, first she was part of his daily life and then she was gone. He missed her, I came to realise, and having lost her I could see why he would want to make sure Mum and Dad didn’t go too.

Transition. It’s been quite a year. Our recent house move is the 4^th major change of home in the past 12 months, but at least this time other things (like school) are staying the same, even if the nature of the area we live in have changed a lot, and the boys seem happy to be in our new home. They have come through many of the issues mentioned above. Nos. 1 and 2 love school and have gradually made good friends both their and in our new church. No. 3 adores the childminder he spends 3 mornings a week with and has great fun charging about with Indian, Pakistani and Somali children we mix with locally. I haven’t even touched on how I and my husband have dealt with all the change, I’ll just go so far as saying it’s ongoing – emotions and issues surfacing at times when the pressing needs of family life and new work and ministry in the UK allow it to.

And where is God in all this? I’ve not mentioned Him either. He’s been right in the middle of all the mess with us. I’m so glad our faith allows for God to be in mess and hurt, confusion, imperfection and uncertainty, and to understand it. It has helped me to recognise that Jesus experienced all this and more as he faced misunderstanding, disappointment and rejection throughout his earthly life. The scriptural idea of being aliens and strangers makes more sense when living as one on the move, with no fixed horizons for a while, and there have been valuable lessons to share with our boys from this part of our story. Together we have known what it is to call heaven our true home, together we have learnt more about trusting God when our plans, hopes and dreams have fallen apart, and together we are learning more about how he rebuilds us in a way that prepares us for wherever he takes us next. Transition and change can be challenging, for us and our children, but like everything else we can trust God to use it for our good.

Unexpected Culture Shock

Last month due to internet issues and a few other things we had no guest blog ... but it's back again this month with a friend who I haven't actually seen face-to-face for quite a few years now as we've both been living all over the world!

I first met Michaela in 1999, in Nairobi when she was part of on a short term mission trip that my mum was on and I was on my way to teach in Tanzania. In my second year in Dodoma, Michaela came out as a member of staff at the same school as me and we lived on the same compound. She also went on to study at All Nations but left the year before I started and then went on to work in Myanmar. She is now married with two beautiful little girls and another little munchkin on the way.

I have returned to Dodoma, somewhere familiar to me ... but living here with a family is very different to when I was young and single first time round. Michaela is now experiencing something similar too, except she is on a completely different continent to me once again!

My husband and I both come from large villages, we have Christian parents and are followers of Christ ourselves. But that is where the similarities end, for a start our villages are in different continents! My village is typically English; thatched cottages, village clock tower, his is in South East Asia with houses of bamboo and wood.

We met while I was teaching in his country and after we got married we continued to live in Myanmar.  After we found out I was pregnant we decided to return to England for the birth and ended up staying 3 years! Two children later and a third on the way, we decided to return to our life in Myanmar.

We were incredibly excited about returning! We have family and friends here. We own our apartment which was the first place we lived as husband and wife. We know how to get around; we know the language, in fact its home.  So the last thing I was expecting was to experience the level of culture shock I did!  Living in Myanmar this time was very different. The difference being, we now had two children under 3.

The thing I struggled with the most was what seemed to be a loss of my independence.  I was used to strapping my two girls into our Phil and Ted’s double buggy and walking to friends houses. I was used to putting them in their car seats and driving off to all manner of places. Suddenly getting to any place was a struggle!  We sold the double buggy before we left the UK knowing it would be too heavy to carry up 8 flights of stairs- yes we live on the 8^th floor and no lift. Instead we bought a small foldable push chair and a buggy board. 

And yet the paths are so pot holed, crowded with stalls and in complete disrepair and the curbs so steep that the buggy can only be used in the parks anyway. Then there’s getting to the parks. Firstly I need to carry a one year old, buggy, buggy board, change bag and hold on to a two and half year old down 8 flights of steep, dirty, concrete stairs. Then wait by the side of the road without losing a child, in temperatures of high 30 degrees C, while I flag down a taxi and haggle with the driver over the price. Once I arrive at the park I am hot and sweaty from having to restrain the one year old from climbing out the windows, no air con in these taxis so all windows are wide open, and I now have to pay foreigner rates.  Even though I married a local and our children are half Myanmar we are all still considered foreigners and so pay double what the locals do.  And of course then there’s the return journey but this time the two and a half year old probably wants carrying up the 8 flights and I’m 20 weeks pregnant!

So it became quite clear, quite early on that going out alone was no longer an option. This really took time for me to accept and was the reason for my culture shock. I had always wanted to look after my children myself and chose not to return to work but be a stay-at-home-mum instead. I enjoyed going out on our little adventures together, seeing where we’d end up, not worrying about someone else’s time schedule but just taking our time.  When I looked around at the ex-pats living here they all have nannies and home helps and drivers which didn’t surprise me but then I realized that all the locals have help too. Not hired help but family! I also have an amazing family here who are adored by my girls and who are ready and willing to help at any time and in anyway.  

There are times in all our lives when we need help. The trick is to acknowledge your need and ask for help or accept the help offered. I have come to realize that the support and help I receive is not failure on my part but a privilege and a joy as well as a necessity!

Seven False Assumptions

Today is February's guest blog, by a Missionary Mum right here in Dodoma, Tanzania. Patricia is from New Zealand and first came to Dodoma to teach as a single lady. She is now an MAF wife to Thomas, an engineer from Northern Ireland (who went through the same training as Mark at MMS) and a mummy to Grace, Naomi's new best friend. 

The McKelvey's are our next-door neighbours here in Dodoma and have been key in helping us settle in. Today Patricia writes some words of wisdom aimed at me and Mark ... but could be for anyone embarking on mission at home or overseas.

Several years ago this document was written by Anne Stoothoof (MAF US Alumna) and it was passed onto to the wider MAF community. When I first read it I was amazed how perceptive it is. At different times on our journey Thomas or/and I have realised we have fallen into one of these dangerous assumptions. I have a printed out copy that often lives above my computer.

Jenny and Mark have only been living next to me in Dodoma a week. Although I realise they have been on the journey for several years. It's quite a serious list but I hope it will help Mark and Jenny to be able to recognise these assumptions when they arise.

But may your honeymoon time as you start your life in Dodoma be a long one and I pray the creepy crawlers that you have met this week won't put you off.

SEVEN FALSE ASSUMPTIONS THAT WILL KILL YOUR JOY

1. If I go where God leads me, the people will love me

‘The servant is not greater than his Lord’ - John 13:16

If I do God’s will God will love me, though he loves me even if I do not.

2. I will be useful in every area I will attempt to serve

‘God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the things that are despised and thethings that are not … so that no one may boast before him’ - 1 Corinthians 1:27-29

Just because I came here, doesn’t mean every need is my responsibility to meet, nor that I will be able to meet all needs.

3. What I do will make a significant (noticeable, appreciated) difference

‘For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal’ - 2 Corinthians 4:18

I have to be willing to be faithful to do what God wants me to do, whether it is seen by others or not.

4. I will be adequate for the task

‘For when I am weak, then I am strong’ - 2 Corinthians 12:10

No matter how much I think I know, I need to know more about brokenness than about ability.

5. I will gain a sense of belonging - fitting in with ease

‘He will be despised and rejected of man, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief’ - Isaiah 53:3

While trying to bridge the language and culture barriers, I must still be willing to be rejected, and to love anyway.

6. If none or few of the above are true, I am a failure

‘Measuring yourselves by yourselves and comparing yourselves against yourselves, you become unwise’ - 2 Corinthians 10:12

No one is a failure who seeks the pleasure of God alone.

7. If all or some of the above are true, I am a success

‘God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world’ - Galatians 6:14

For whose sake am I trying to succeed? If I win all the cross-cultural crowns and forget the cross, I lose all.

Definition of a 'Calling'

Today I want to introduce you to someone very special to me. Laurie arrived in Coshocton 5 months after I did with my family. The difference was though, that her husband was permanent staff and there for the long haul and not an apprentice who would only be there for three years. Between them they have 5 children and 11 grandchildren, who all live within about 4 hours drive of their home. We became good friends really quickly and she was one of the people I was really sad to say goodbye to when we left Ohio. 

We will forever be linked though, as she is one of Naomi's (fairy) godmothers! Laurie has also got involved with MMS and has taken a leadership role with regards to the Apprentice Wives group as well as other things. She also writes a devotional blog called Providence Smiles which is based around the book of Acts (although not exclusively), a study we have been working through together as apprentice wives, looking at the first missionary experiences. But today she writes, very honestly, for me ...

I live what some might view as a small life. 

The alarm goes off. It is 5:30am. My husband gets out of bed and starts going about his day. He needs to be at the Missionary Maintenance Services Aviation (MMS) hanger by 7:30. 

I, on the other hand, snuggle down under the covers and doze back to sleep. Our children are grown and my husband can take care of himself therefore, I feel no hurry to get out of bed on this cold January morning. Around 7:00 I arouse myself. I then read through email, do my morning exercise routine and eat a breakfast of oatmeal, berries, walnuts and yogurt. I eat this every morning. My day continues with varying activities that range from shopping for meals, preparing meals, doing laundry, folding laundry, coffee with friends (on a good day) and working around the yard (on warmer days). 

Between the chores and activities of every day life I get to spend time writing. I began writing an inspirational/devotional book three years ago geared toward the wives of the apprentice’s at MMS. Writing is something I have always imagined myself doing. I know this because when I discovered a box of journals I had kept in high school I talked about aspirations of becoming a writer. Then when I uncovered another journal I kept from just five years ago I read again about my dream of writing. 

At around 4:45 my husband gets home, we chit chat, laugh at each other’s jokes, eat dinner and spend the evening, once again doing varying tasks.

This brings me to the question, how do I title this life I am leading? On some days I fathom myself a missionary. This comes from the fact that my husband and I serve with a missionary organization (MMS). 

However, the reality of the situation is that we don’t have what many would picture as the “missionary life.” Three years ago we took early retirement, moved from the city of Cincinnati (population 300,000) to the small town of Coshocton (12,000) for the sole purpose of serving at MMS, an American based mission. We are not deprived of most of our life comforts, our culture shock is minimal and we have no language barrier. If we take an opportunity to evangelize we have no worries of being threatened or persecuted. The majority of our financial support comes from our pension benefit, not a church or other faith support. Once again, this is not how the population at large envisions the missionary life. Nor is it how most missionaries live. 

Therefore, if I am living this life that appears small and not experiencing what many would visualize as a missionary’s large life what right do I have to give myself the title of missionary? If I live my life in the U.S instead of crossing an ocean to live can I qualify as a missionary? If I am not evangelizing am I a missionary? These are some of the questions I’ve asked God and myself. I haven’t yet settled into any answers. In my mind it seems complicated and unclear. 

When other people ask me the question, “what do you do?” I often resort to answering with, “missionary”. Interestingly, very few people ask questions beyond that. However, I often feel the need to validate this with more of a description. I clear my throat and talk about all the wonderful things MMS does, my husband’s part and my part. 

Having shared my ambivalence about how to title my life I also want to share some things I do know. I know my husband and I both felt a “calling” on our lives to be here in Coshocton at MMS. Therefore, three years ago we took the early retirement; we packed our bags and sold our home. We left a place we loved. We left our family, our friends and our church. 

A “calling” is another one of those terms that seems gray and unclear. When I think of a calling it means I am able to look back and see a series of events that pointed me in one direction. In addition there were needs and desires placed inside of me that had to be fulfilled. These needs and desires are somewhat similar to times when I feel hungry. During those moments I know that only food is going to stop the hunger pain, to fill the void or to satisfy. I had needs and desires to live for something bigger then myself and for a purpose that would have eternal results. To accomplish this I knew I needed to depend on God. Only He provides the courage to live as I feel called instead of how others think I should. 

To make the explanation of a “calling” even more specific is to say that I am living my life based on faith. This faith in God allows me to believe that He is at work in my life. It does not mean that I always enjoy the purpose or the process. Nor does it mean I don’t miss what I have given up. However, what it does mean is what appears to most as a small life is not small to the God of the universe. It is what He created me for at this God created moment. I also have the faith that He is continuing to create me for moments He is constructing for the future. 

Lastly, I know that to not have taken the unique opportunity to live out the call for my life would have been wrong. My life would some how seemed cheapened, robbed and shallow. 

Also, I would not have been given the opportunity at this moment to write about my perplexing yet oddly extraordinary life. 

"For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well." 

Psalm 139.13-14

Flexibility

Happy New Year ... belatedly I'll admit ... but just as heartfelt nonetheless!

The last couple of weeks have been a bit all over the place ... so firstly apologies for the lack of posts without any warning and secondly thank you to all of you who have been checking anyway just in case, I really appreciate your interest in 'The Missionary Mum'!

Flexibility is something that time and again, missionaries have shared is one the most important character traits to survive the lifestyle and different cultures ... I think that it definitely applies to being a mum too. I'm not sure if I've been given a double portion or not? There are definitely times when being flexible is easy and straight forward and other times when it is a real effort ... but most of the time it's worth it!

Life with munchkins this week has required flexibility. With one throwing up one evening, equaling a night on the sofa for me, then two days later the other following suit and me going down with it today. The cranky pants behaviour that goes along with that and just being out of the normal routine of life surrounded by the unfamiliar.

Then there has been, the keeping up with supporters and important emails. The filling out paperwork for all kinds of different things. Organising our schedule for this time in the UK. Looking ahead to life in Tanzania and making sure we're all prepared and ready. As well as bed hopping, 6 beds in 3 weeks.

This blog requires flexibility too. Last week we had no internet, so I couldn't blog. I packed my recipe book in the container, so I haven't been able to include any new ones recently. The guest bloggers I'd lined up have had various important reasons why they weren't able to write last month, so we missed one. If blogger doesn't want to upload a photo, then there's just no photo!

Like with everything else ... when things don't work out or don't get done as planned, I've found that either I can get frustrated and stressed about it or I can take it in my stride, learn from it and move on. As I said before, that's often easier said than done. 

If the whole family is sick, however much we want to see people, it's just not going to happen! If I make decisions that I decide in hindsight are wrong, I often can't reverse them so there's no reason to rehash and rehash them but just move forward and make better decisions in the future. If I get behind with something, then I just set aside time when I can concentrate and catch up. If, as a family, we're living out of suitcases and moving around regularly then we have to except that things aren't going to be 'just right' all the time!

Flexibility is the key ... and is something we're learning from day-to-day, especially not living in a home of our own right now. Hopefully, as a family we're getting it right some of the time ... and helping the girls learn that it's a trait to embrace and roll-with as they grow up too!