There are so many meaningful, valuable and beautiful lessons to be learned from living in French West Africa. Every day provides a lesson of some kind, a new way of looking at things and a different approach to a certain situation or event. I remember one of our first days in French West Africa. We’d …
Tips for Strengthening Families in Transition
Families in transition face some monumental challenges in the weeks and days leading up to a major life transition. We are realizing again how traumatic, overwhelming, exciting and emotional these global transitions can be for the whole family. For families in transition, finding the resources, help, and needed support can be difficult. Especially for families …
Newsletter Ideas For Overseas Workers
You are on the hunt for something fresh… newsletter ideas to get you in the writing mood. You know it is time to send out your next newsletter but you just aren’t sure what to say. You wait another month. And then another. And pretty soon, it has been ages since you’ve last communicated with …
Dear Mom on Furlough
Dear mom on furlough, You did it. You packed up your life overseas for a short season to head back home for a few months or a year or more. Whether you call it home assignment or furlough or itineration, you landed in your passport country. You are back where you started your missions journey. …
Overseas Life is Definitely NOT Boring
“So what brings you to Springfield?” I asked the woman in the seat next to me. She had been playing Solitaire the entire flight and I was quite busy reading on my kindle. We’d landed in Chicago and had a few minutes to chat while the plane made it’s way to the terminal. “Oh, just …
How Far I’ll Go
There is a dusty, dirt road near my parents’ house that is the perfect road for a good run. The grid of roads in this area are marked out in perfect 1 mile distances, making it easy to chart a path. My running schedule has been sporadic so each time I put on my running …
How I Landed Here
For me, becoming a missionary was not an easy road. It wasn’t the path I ever imagined I’d find myself on or dreamed I would walk one day. Yet, here I am. Just starting our second term and still pondering the process of becoming a missionary, what that means and how I landed here. {the …
Learning to Kiss the Waves
Being thankful can be difficult in good times. Add in times of struggle, moments of challenge and the stresses of every day life and being thankful can be even more difficult. But what about when God asks us to be thankful FOR the struggles, challenges and stresses? “…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is …
Feeling Emotional During Transition
Feeling emotional can truly take you by surprise. The moment you are sitting there and find yourself saying, “I don’t even know why I’m crying!” Or, for me just yesterday, saying, “I didn’t mean to cry about this!” Feeling emotional It is just part of life. It is an even bigger part of transition. Throw …