Unpredictable. That’s the word that causes me the most stress, living here. You just never know what you’re going to run across. However, it also can cause a lot of laughter—because some days, if you don’t laugh, you just might cry!
The scene that confronted me as I was headed out the door to go get […]
I studied culture shock in college and read about its various stages: honeymoon, frustration, depression, and acceptance. Graphs showed how you start on the ‘high’ of the honeymoon phase and over time sink down through frustration to depression before eventually bouncing back up to acceptance, thus completing your bumpy culture shock trajectory.
We have been […]
The dogs barked and woke me up. Again. Don’t get me wrong – this was a good thing. I am grateful that they would likely alert us to nocturnal intruders on our property.
Listening to the whir of the fan overhead, laying still in the dark, my mind wandered. Why do people walk down our street […]
Our family has not one, not two, not three, but four addresses right now: there’s the post office box in Vermont where we receive our mail, our street address here in Quebec, our financial support address at MAF’s headquarters, and a permanent address at my husband’s parents’ house.
To complicate matters, soon we will replace […]
As I walked him to the school bus, I gave him a little pep talk: “There’s nothing to be afraid of. Your teacher will help you. The other kids want to be your friends.” But it was of no use; as the school bus pulled up, my five-year-old son kicked and yelled and cried, writhing […]
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” — Ecclesiastes 3:1
All missionaries have to face seasons of letting go, and our family is certainly no exception; my husband, two sons and I have let go of a lot as we have been preparing ourselves […]