Month: October 2014

I wrote the blog below last Saturday, but today has a similar feel to it in many ways…

I once read a poem that described the weather being so heavy that it was a burden being carried around on the backs of the people. At the time it seemed like a hyperbole (deliberate exaggeration). I am not so sure of the exaggeration part anymore.

We are in the rainy season here in Nicaragua, and October is the height of the rainy season. We have not had rain for four days, and each day has added to the burden. This morning I looked out once again hoping that I would see rain clouds in the east, but instead I saw the brownish-blue sky that seems the consistency of soup. The air is still, and what seems to make the most sense is to stay inside until the rain comes.

That is not the plan for the day. A man in our fellowship died yesterday. In this climate the body does not last long, so burial is required within 48 hours. The wake was yesterday in the house and the funeral was today. I sat in the living room, which was turned into a funeral parlor, with the only fan in the room aimed at the dark wooden casket. It was a heavy day.

The service was followed by a horse-drawn carriage procession of the casket to the cemetery. I rode in a car, but the widow and most others walked the couple miles. I can’t and I don’t want to image the walk in the heat of the day. The widow graciously thanked us for coming, as if we had been inconvenienced by her new burden.

The weight continued. We sat under the high tin roof discussing Zacchaeus, with our Saturday friends in Pantanal, and dripping sweat. This is the kind of day that even the Nicaraguans are sweating, but now the clouds are building. I feel the tension of something coming, maybe a little like Zacchaeus as he sees his life about to change. He is believing in something new.

Our house is hot. The burden of the day is weighing down. I quietly take the steps of making dinner, but I know something is coming. A few big drops, a small breeze, and lightning in the distance. The rustle of plants, the slamming of a door, the coolness of wind blowing through our open house. The lightning is closer, four seconds ‘til the thunder, and the rain pouring down.

The coolness lifts some of my burden. I can breathe. I walk a little straighter, but the weight of the day has taken its toll; not just on me, but those around me. I am tired and ready to be renewed.

²² The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;^[a]

his mercies never come to an end; ²³

 they are new every morning;

Lamentations 3:22, 23a (ESV)

Waves

I LOVE PLAYING IN THE WAVES! Maybe this goes back to growing up in California with a mom who loves the beach and uncles who would take their four foot tall nieces into the 5-6 foot tall waves; we would cling to them, but we loved the water rushing over us.

I am not usually a beggar, but this past week when we were at the beach, I would beg Stephen to come out with me to swim in the waves. While I love the waves, I also would rather have someone with me in case of an attack. I am from the Jaws generation and I figure the odds are better with two people than just one!

When I first got out in the waves, I would see giant waves in the distance and while I did not run for the beach, I did nudge inward for fear of the unknown. My realization was, that with time what appeared to be huge and overwhelmed actually evened out into something delightful; something to ride into shore or just enjoy being tossed around a bit.

It was the waves that took me by surprise, that I was not ready for, that presented the most danger. With time though I developed some strategies for the surprises- be aware, jump up into the wave, dive below the wave, go with the wave into shore. Soon I was enjoyed the bigger waves. I knew what to do, how to handle them. I wanted more.

The big waves in the distance did not worry me because they were not big by the time they came to me, and the surprise waves that came to me did not worry me because I had tools to handle them.

I need to listen to my own advice when it comes to life security and spiritual matters. The big issues in the future are not for me to worry about because likely they will not be big when they finally get to me. The big issues that come to me will not be so daunting if I have the tools to deal with them; if I have taken the time to place my security in Jesus, if I don’t let my emotions run over the Truth that God has spoken into my life.

Here is another area that I need prayer! After a tantrum of “I hate my life” recently, it was very obvious that my perspective was not right. I was not rising above the wave, or riding them to the shore. Instead I was letting it throw me around, adding fear to the situation I was in.

God has put “Truth Teller” in my life, Stephen is one of them, and I need them to keep my focus on that Truth!

Let me start this by saying that in Oregon we do not understand humidity. We might say, “Wow! It is humid today!”, but if lotion needs to be applied to any part of the body, humidity is not a reality.
Since we arrived back, we have experienced some of the usual humidity issues. The sheets feel damp when we lay down, the clothes don’t completely dry after hanging on the line all day, we breathe in and the air feels heavy, and the salt comes out of the shaker in chunks. Anything that is made of paper is slightly damp, and everywhere I go there is a suspicious organic smell.
Here are a few new things for me about living in humidity:
Pillows: I did not know that pillows could mold. Drool marks, sweat stains, loss of feathers I can understand, but mold on the outside; that is new to me.
Mac and Cheese: It seems that it could have a very long shelf life with dried noodles and packaged cheese, but when I went to make a box the other day, instead of tearing into the box, it kind of shredded open. That should have been the first clue. The noodles looked normal, but after cooking them for the prescribed time, putting in the milk, butter, and cheese packet, it was more like cheese mush than Kraft Mac and Cheese. The good news is that it still tasted the same!
Candy Canes: I might be the only one who still has candy canes in October, but from previous experience, the worst thing that happens after this long is that they get a little gummy and stick to the wrapper. So imagine gummy canes! They look the same, but they are more flexible than Gumby! It is just weird.
Ziplock Bags: I am taking some liberty here because I am not sure how humidity would affect Ziplock bags, but the same bags that were functioning just fine before I left have been rendered ineffective now. Two days in a row as I have planned to safely seal something into a bag, the bottom has split open. The first was some beloved peanut brittle from Oregon that I was trying to protect from the humidity- I can only guess what would happen to it- the second was cauliflower, oil, and garlic! Let’s just say that makes quite a mess.
We are adjusting back to like in warm and humid Nicaragua, and we definitely do not need lotion!
So today, we sit in the house, listening to the rain outside and the rushing creek below. It is quiet! It seems that the town sleeps when the rain comes. The attendants at the grocery store were kind enough to make sure I had umbrella coverage for the trip to the car, and we are thankful that our new car is getting a wash!

We have been back in Nicaragua right around one week. In some ways if feels longer and others much shorter. When I think about the facts that we are back to paying $1.75 for a mealy apple and I know that in Oregon they are just about at perfection, I feel a long way away from the country of last week.
When I think about the fact that we may have taken one of our last required taxi rides because we bought a car this morning, it makes me feel closer to the US and what it represents. It represents people who openly cared for us over the past seven weeks. It represents answers to prayer, and conversations over coffee that helped me process the next steps. It represents gallons of Starbucks coffee and frozen yogurt choices with toppings. It represents people who listened and gave to us sacrificially. It represents God working in the hearts of people for others, and a certain fourth grade student who is willing to forego Christmas gifts so that families in Nicaragua can have clean water.
So the question we get on our return is “How was your time in the US?”. Of course words are not quite enough to explain it all, but it was wonderful in so many ways.
And people in the US ask us about how it is to be back, and of course words are not quite enough to explain it all. We were greeted with heat and a messy house, but we were also greeted with Americans and Nicaraguans who were glad to have us home. We were greeted with, “I’ve prayed for you every day you were gone, and I know this is going to be a better year for you”. We were greeted with five fellow Oregonians now in our Sunday fellowship. We were greeted with being honored guests at a piñata for some boys (think birthday party with a stick and children), and opportunities to pray and be united with fellow missionaries. And of course we were greeted with knowing that our little pool is available 24/7!
In just a few minutes, Stephen and I are going to hop into our new car (1999 Honda CRV), go buy bread, and then visit some friends! Life is Good!