to blog or not to blog.....

Blogs are today's newsletters.  Blogging is fashionable.  Blogging is sooooo new millennium.

But these are not the reasons I write a blog.

I have been on the mission field for 15 consecutive years; 14 of those in Guatemala.  Although this doesn't make me an expert on every aspect of missions, it does give me a certain perspective that matures with time.

One thing I have learned in the past 15 years is that people are genuinely curious as to what an average day looks like for me (and other missionaries).  I am often asked, "what is life like in Guatemala?  What do you really DO?"  Although life for each missionary and on each mission field varies drastically, just as it does depending on which region of the United States you might hail from, I find that a blog is a wonderful way to answer the question regarding what mission life is like for ME.

In this blog I try to be as honest as possible.  Life itself, whether on the mission field or not, is not always pretty.  Although at times we get dirty in the trenches, by God's grace we are not only getting by, but we are living in Victory!  As I write I find I have more victories to share than defeats.  I find I have more joys to share than sorrows.  I find that life with Jesus is truly very sweet.

In this blog I attempt to make faces out of numbers.  When a missionary visits the churches that support him it is tempting to speak statistically.  After all, churches and supporters want to know that the money they sow is actually bearing fruit, and what better way to express that than with concrete numbers?  However, the people we minister to are more than numbers.  They have faces, feelings, stories to tell.  They are lives being touched and changed for eternity.... although sometimes we won't see these results until we are all together in Heaven.

Every missionary is unique; every organization is different.  I cannot pretend to speak on behalf of others.  I can only tell my own story and that of my family.  My situation is unique in that our family lives half a missionary lifestyle and half a civilian lifestyle.  In our case my husband in not a missionary.  He has the same job he had when we met, fell in love, and married.  His salary offers us a stability many other missionaries don't have and maybe don't want (because it also locks us into one place somewhat permanently).  We live on his salary, allowing us to use ministry finances for ministry expenses- an advantage your "average" (if there is such a thing) missionary can't do as they must also use finances for personal living expenses.

Our family has its own challenges as my children do not really fit in 100% with other missionary children, yet they don't fit in 100% with other Guatemalans, and most definitely they don't fit in 100% with Americans!  But so far this hasn't presented a problem.  My children say they are "Guatemalans" and "missionaries" with the same conviction as they would say they have blue eyes.  To them it is a mere description, not an identity as a whole.

So in this blog I humbly attempt to paint a picture of our life.  Half civilian.  Half missionary.  I attempt to show the reader what it could be like to walk in my shoes.  I throw in a little bit of ministry life, a dash of motherhood, a pinch of fundraising, and swirl it all together.  I am encouraged to know how many of you identify with my struggles and successes in whatever realm I am writing about.  It is good to know that no matter where we are geographically or spiritually our God is the same God.  His promises are the same for you and for me.  We face similar challenges and find our answers in the same place- God's Word.

I encourage you to join me in this adventure we all call life...

family picture taken last February- but the most recent one I have