Three Years

Today is the 1st of May and in just 10 days it will mark 3 years in PY. Just three short years ago we had our bags pack, life organized, long flights ahead and an exciting adventure before us.

We arrived and were greeted in new ways but by smiling faces. 

We were welcomed and we were excited!

We had new sites and sounds before us...

 And a new culture to understand.

We jumped in with both feet 

we settled in, we studied, we made this our home.

We kept learning new things while still doing the familiar in our own culture, birthdays were celebrated and friendships deepened.

(Jade's 2nd birthday and Jamen's 4th birthday) 

We had a baby! I always said I never wanted to have a baby overseas but the Lord had other plans. We were blessed to have a 3rd child and to experience the best labor and recovery ever!  

The first year was lots of adjustments for us but the Lord was faithful in being there every step of the way, through the smiles, the tears, the joy and the pain. When things were going well and when things were hard. 

The second year marked ... 

A year of greater struggle for me but also a time of friendships deepening, holidays felt a little more normal, drinking terere and eating sopa were familiar and comfortable. The sites and sounds were common and my heart no longer raced out of control when I took the bus alone.

Sweet friends who were by our sides helping us, encouraging us and being there for us became closer than family. I recall when Jon had dengue fever and baby Jonas was so sick friends took me to the hospital. They dropped everything to help! What a blessing!

More friends were made as language levels grew and culture understanding deepened. We were able to grieve better with friends who lost loved ones, who's families struggled. 

But we also got to experience the joys of new life, to be there to celebrate and give encouragement and a helping hand.

Finally a new horizon was before us, one we had been waiting 10 years to get to 

It was time to once again say goodbye  

To take time to visit one-on-one and treasure friendships made 

Time to pack up again 

To arrive again in a place were greetings are unfamiliar, the words sound like gibberish, the culture unknown and everything we knew to be familiar was no more.... 

But there is no doubt in my mind friendships will be made, culture understood, the gibberish will turn into meaning and understanding and the Lord will grow us even more though the ups and the downs.

So here is 3 years! And I'm looking forward to many more!