Summer Wrap Up

While the official end of Summer is still several weeks away, it essentially ended with July for us. But before we talk about the end, let’s go back to Summer’s beginning.

Jeruahel missed most of the month of May at school with her adenoid surgery, but was excited to be able to return for the last few days of the school year. She had no trouble shifting her excitement about school and its end towards our trip to Pittsburgh. While she was bummed to find out there wouldn’t be any snow, she was extremely excited to return after nearly 4 years away.

Honestly, it was a little difficult to wrap my mind around how long we had been away. That was my longest time away since moving here 18 years ago. So much happened in those 4 years, it’s hard to put my thoughts into words. On the one hand, that time seemed to go by very slowly. A few posts ago I wrote about how 2022 felt like the longest year of my life. On the other hand, in those 4 years we moved 4 times, bought land, built two houses, changed our ministry approach, and I began a career as a teacher. Somehow, amidst those factors, as we prepared to travel, it felt like any other trip. Well, the preparation did. The actual flying did not. We flew standby, got delayed leaving Nicaragua by a couple days, and then had to fly into Cleveland instead of Pittsburgh. My parents demonstrated more sacrificial love by driving to Cleveland for our 12:30 AM arrival. We finally made it back to their house in the Burgh, and the rest began.

It always takes a few days back in the states before, all of a sudden, I relax. The same thing seems to happen everytime we return to the US, but I had forgotten the feeling. Living in Nicaragua, you’re sort of always on edge. It’s like it takes a few days for my brain, emotions, body and even spirit to remember that I don’t need to be on high alert anymore. Driving around the North Hills of Pittsburgh is extremely relaxing for me. When out in public, I don’t stand out, and no one stares at me. Strangers don’t stand in my personal space. There aren’t police on every other corner, and the uncertainty in the atmosphere is gone for us.

Our family goes above and beyond to make us feel welcome and comfortable. We are so blessed by them and their love and care for us. Jeruahel can’t get enough time with her cousins, and it amazes me how children understand family even though they don’t remember each other. They just know they belong.

North Way and Elfinwild, our supporting churches, also go out of their way to welcome us back and encourage us. We were able to speak with both congregations and share about what the LORD is doing in our family and in Nicaragua. The support we feel always chokes me up at some point, and we are reminded of the Body of Christ. We just know we belong.

Speaking of family and belonging, we have some big news. Jessenia is pregnant! She started to have some symptoms towards the end of June, and took a test at the beginning of July. She knows her body well, as she was just 4 weeks pregnant at that point! We had our first appointment when we returned, and had our second one 2 weeks ago. The baby is growing, active, and developing well. Mom has dealt with some nausea, dizziness and neck pain, but has been healthy along the way. Big sister Jeruahel literally bounces everytime we talk about the baby. We told her a couple weeks before we were ready to tell everyone, but once school started she was unsuccessful keeping her exciting secret 🙂 We don’t know yet if it’s a boy or a girl, but hope to find out at our next appointment. The baby is due mid-late February, so we’ve still got time to get ready for our new arrival.

Back to my reflection on getting away. I usually become aware of just how relaxed I was in the US upon our return to Nicaragua. The first thing I notice is that I have energy, lots of energy to jump into projects I had put off or renewed hopes for time spent in ministry. I look back at the things I was or wasn’t doing because I was tired, and pray not to return to that state again. What was new this time around was the return brought us back to our house, to our home. The sensation was both awesome and completely normal somehow. I think the reality continues to sink in for me that, after having lived in so many places the past 18 years since I moved here, I am in our family home. I just counted 16 different rental agreements I’ve signed over the years, and it’s nice to think I won’t have that again. His faithfulness is displayed in this home. Not only did He establish our physical foundations here, I see it as a picture of the spiritual foundations He has been working to rebuild.

The overarching truth through all these years and all these changes, through all our comings and goings, is God’s Love and Faithfulness. He alone is Worthy. He alone is Almighty. He alone is worthy of our praise, and worthy of our lives, and worthy of our change. He is making all things new. Not only creating new things, like our baby, but restoring old things, like ancient foundations and streets of dwelling (Isaiah 58, 61). For from Him, and to Him, and through Him are all things: to Him be the glory forever! (Rom. 11:36)