An Unusual Highlight

Going to a pumpkin patch and the beach were a blast in NJ and were definitely highlights.  But while in NJ we also had another wonderful experience that was quite different from traditional fun, but was also definitely a highlight: meeting with a Christian counselor who gets together with missionary couples and pastors.  

I know it's a little unusual to talk about counseling, but since my sister and Jeyson's mom are both Christian counselors, our family/extended family has learned so much about how wonderful, healthy and great counseling can be even for people who are doing well, like we feel we are.  We did this about 5 years ago with the same counselor and found it so valuable to debrief about the joys and struggles in life, especially life in ministry, where there are a lot more pressures and stresses.  So we decided to give it a go again this time.

The counselor who we met with sees people in ministry for free and he himself was a missionary kid to Japan, so he GETS some of the stresses we face day-to-day.  He works at Cairn college, so it was an hour hike each time over to PA, but totally worth it for the three times we could go.  We had lots of great conversations on the way there and back (especially with no kids in tow!) and it was so nice to sit down with someone not connected at all with anyone or anything in your lives or ministry or family and just talk, look at things from different angles, etc.  And of course to have time focused just on us and our needs, unlike the natural give and take of conversations with peers or in ministry.

We came away from the sessions with some really fresh perspectives on our challenges of living overseas, some practical ways to invest in our marriage, and just a lightness of heart of processing through our past years with someone skilled in helping us do so.  The hours spent talking with the counselor were some of the most valuable of our furlough, really getting us ready for our next term.  

As I said, unfortunately it's kind of unusual to admit that you have been to counseling, almost taboo in a way.  But after seeing how great it can be to go, even when you're doing well, made me want to write this to encourage anyone out there, especially in ministry to consider the opportunity if it ever arises!  It truly was a blessing to us!

New Jersey News

Well the biggest, jam packed, nonstop crazy part of our furlough is now behind us, and what a fun whirlwind it was!!  The whole month of September we stayed in New Jersey, near where I grew up, and enjoyed tons of time visiting with many of the churches and families who are part of our support team.

We got together with many families individually and we also had 2 wonderful dessert nights where people got together as a group.  It was a blast reconnecting with friends, many of whom we haven't seen in years, filling them in on our lives in Brazil, and answering questions that ranged from our biggest challenges to which way the toilet flushes south of the equator :)  Lots of great laughs, meaningful prayer time, and of course, wonderful food!

 Two extra special visits for me were:

1. Visiting my grandma.  We haven't seen her since Elijah just turned 1 year old.  So he didn't remember her and of course my grandma had never met Audrey.  It was wonderful to spent time together (re)introducing everyone. 

2.  Getting to spend the whole day visiting with my childhood best friend.  We met when were about 3 years old, so we're going on almost 30 years of genuine friendship, despite the many miles.

 Our weeks in New Jersey were packed with commitments, and it was all made one thousand times easier...no scratch that...it was all made possible thanks to my sister, Christa, and her husband, Andy, who hosted us so graciously in their house and babysat our kids countless times.  (oh yeah, and not to mention they cooked for us, cleaned up the house we messed extra with kids, were patience when kids were being crazy before they even drank their morning coffee, and much much more!!!)  We would have been a lost cause without their sacrificial help and really ministry to us.

But out time in NJ wasn't all just work.  There was lots of play too.  We got to celebrate the birthdays of all of the ladies in the house.  Christa's, mine, and Audrey's.  And to make sure things were extra fun, we did NOT even consider the idea of a group celebration.  We celebrated correctly...3 times...one for each birthday girl on her own day.

 There was also a ton of time for play...

And enjoying local events.

One of my all time favorite days in New Jersey was getting to spend my birthday at literally my favorite place in the world...the ocean!  It was a blast introducing our kids to the beach too, and Elijah absolutely loved everything, especially the waves.  

 

I can't even tell you how much I miss the ocean while I'm in Brazil.  Sure, we have the Amazon River, which is awesome in it's own way.  But growing up with the ocean a part of every summer, even after 7 years in Brazil, I still miss it a ton.  I guess you can take the girl out of New Jersey but you can't take New Jersey out of the girl!  So the day was an absolute perfect refreshment to be added to our furlough.

Another really fun part of our time in NJ was getting to experience the changing of seasons.  The seasons we experience in Boa Vista are Hot and Hotter, so we never have that change to fall.  We never have that moment when it's time to pull out jackets and pants, everything is orange and golden, and pumpkin spice is in the air.  How I have missed it!!  In fact, enjoying fall was one of the reasons we chose to do our furlough during this half of the year.  So, as you can see it's obviously something we miss big time! 

 It was also really fun to do many of the quintessential fall rituals.  Going to a pumpkin patch, checking out tractors, crunching on leaves. Elijah loved it all, though he still is super confused about the idea of seasons.   In fact, he's even confused about the idea of pants!  As it was starting to get cold, we told him we needed to get him some pants.  In typical preschool know-it-all fashion, he informed me that he did NOT want us to buy him pants.  All he needed us to get him were some long shorts (pointing down to his ankles) to keep his legs warm.  lol!

Another really fun fall day was enjoying a bonfire at my sister's in-laws house.  S'mores and all.  It doesn't get any better than that!  We never even have bonfires in Boa Vista...way too hot to be something fun you'd do.  And of course marshmallows as we know them in the US don't exist.  So fun, fun to do it again!

Here's Elijah the first evening it was cold out.  We had visited some friends and were sitting outside.  As the sun went down a cold chill hit the air.  We didn't think to bring a jacket and they didn't have one for Elijah so they wrapped this blanket around him.  I'm not sure what he thought was funnier...the pink and purple bears or the fact that he was truly experiencing a chill for the first time!

To top off all the fun, on the very last weekend we were in New Jersey, Christa and Andy let us host a breakfast get-together at their house.  It was the perfect way to see many people we still hadn't been able to visit with (or visit with enough).  We truly felt so blessed and encouraged to be surrounded by such a wonderful body of believers who support us and help us to press on as we serve.  

As I write this, we're already in Ohio.  A few days here then we're off to the Chicago area for a few weeks.  Lots more adventures to be had!!