Questions About Moving Abroad

Montevideo, Uruguay

For years we have considered the possibility of moving abroad.  Right now there are things that are keeping us in the US, but it continues to be in our thoughts and our prayers.  Every time we make a trip abroad, we ask the question, "Is this the place where God wants to send us to live next?"

One of the main factors in where we can live is cost of living.  While we enjoyed our visit to Luxembourg last year, for example, we know that we cannot survive there on the income God has given us.  On the other hand, most of Latin America, some of Asia and some of Europe and Africa could potentially be a place for us.  The world is a big place, and there are many places where we could go.

A second factor, and probably the most important, is ministry.  Is there something for us to do there that fits the skill sets that God has given us?  We do not want to move abroad to simply retire.  We want to be fully invested until we can no longer work.  So every time we visit a country we also ask this question, "If we lived here, what ministry would we have?  Are there teaching and training opportunities here?"

Another major factor is language.  While there are many countries where we could use English to start up a ministry to expatriates living there, we want to be able to minister among the nationals. This trip to Bolivia was a major part of seeing whether or not a Spanish speaking country could work. After a month of living there and getting some language instruction, we think it can.  So now we have two language options - English and Spanish.

There are some other more minor factors that we will consider, like health care and transportation. How hard and how expensive is it to get back to the US if we need to do that? Is it easy for us to get a visa? Is it easy to live without a car? If not, what would that cost? Is it better to rent or own a residence? Would we need to maintain a residence in the US? These and other questions would need to be answered.

The last factor and the one that will be the deciding one for us is God's call.  We want to hear God clearly speak to us about the next step we need to take. It is possible that He will call us to stay in the U.S. or He may lead us abroad. Whatever we do, we want to be sure that we are following His direction for our lives. Wherever it is, we believe that He is already putting together the pieces that will give us the ministry He has for us when we get there.  When the time comes, we will know. In the meantime, we keep doing the work He has for us right now.

Heading Home

I am on my way home.  It is taking longer than I thought it would.  As a child, I had not idea my journey would last this long.  Even though I have been traveling for a very long time, I may still be a long way off. Yet in my mind’s eye, I can see it.  Every bend in the road brings me closer.  Each step makes me wish I were there already.

Home, they say, is where the heart is.  If that’s true, then I have more than one home, but the one I most long for is the one I have held in my heart almost all my life.  Heaven is my heart's home.  I want to see the Holy City, gleaming in all its splendor.  I want to meet Peter, Paul, Moses, David, Ruth, Mary, and so many others. I want to see my relatives and friends who are already there.  I want to see the tree that bears fruit in every season and the river that flows from the throne of God.  I want to experience a place where there is no loneliness, no sadness, and especially no sin.  But most of all, I want to see Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith, the One who paid the price for my sin and made it possible for me to be adopted into His family.  I want to worship Him and be amazed all over again at His love, mercy, and grace.  I want to keep learning about the amazing God who forgave and adopted people like me into His very family.

Sometimes I despair that I will get to hear Jesus say “Well done.” The long, winding road I have traveled has had many hills and valleys.  Distracted, I have sometimes forgotten to follow the map God gave me. Sometimes I have found myself off the path He had for me and had to ask Him to help me find my way back. At other times, I thought I could take a slight detour toward temptation, only to find myself desperately lost.  How blessed I was when the Holy Spirit rescued me from those sinful distractions and detours and set me back on the right road.

I am not the only one on this road.  Along the way, I share my experiences of God’s grace with others who are also heading home.  We have the same goal – to reach the gates of heaven and see Jesus welcome us with open arms.  Some are wounded and need to be nursed back to health or carried for a while.  Some are easily tempted and need a companion to help them stay on the right road.  Some are discouraged and need a friend to walk with them through dark valleys.  Some are strong and ready to help others.  Some are lethargic and need a gentle push.  Some have wandered off toward temptation and we call out to them to come back.  But together we are all heading home.

When we keep our sights set on reaching home, our goals are clearer. We help each other stay on this road.  We post warning signs along the road where we have noticed temptations.  We keep inviting those headed in the opposite direction to turn around and travel with us because our destination is so much better than the one going the other way.  We share what we know of Jesus with each other and encourage each other to keep going.  We share what we know of Him through His letters to us.  We look forward to that day when we will watch each other walk through the gates and hear Jesus say, “Well done.  Welcome home.”

Someday I may get word from my doctor that I am nearing the end of my journey. I hope that when that happens I will be excited because I finally get to cross the river to the home that has held my heart all these years.

Spanish Lessons in Bolivia

Charlie with one of the tutors

In the morning, we filled our hearts with prayer and the Word, our stomachs with a simple breakfast and then left the spacious guest house to fill our minds with Spanish. It was the primary purpose for which we came to Bolivia this time.  By lunchtime, our minds were bursting with conjugations, preterit vs. imperfect, double verbs and subjunctive tenses until it felt as though our heads would explode.

At the end of the first week, Charlie wondered why he was not making faster progress. I was coming to terms with the difficulty of correcting grammatical errors that had become bad habits. Then we realized we had only been here for a week and we still had three more weeks to go. That was reassuring. As Charlie gained confidence in his ability to communicate, I became more fearful that every time I spoke I would be saying something wrong again. But my teachers assured me that this was a sign of improvement.

After we had been here about three weeks, we ate lunch with IPM's missionary, Jose Antonio Jordan and his family.  During lunch, Charlie carried on a conversation with him, and he commented on how much Charlie's Spanish has improved.  I heard it too. This improvement will help us as we continue to make trips to Latin America.

On Thursday and Friday nights I taught a teacher training class.  I took the notes from a class I taught a couple years ago in Mexico and went through them, making changes as I saw the grammar errors I originally made.  Then I took my lessons to my language school teachers and they went over them with me. When we finished, I said to Alicia, my teacher, "Prepositions are getting me into trouble."  She agreed and added, "They seem to be difficult in any language.  I have trouble with them in English."

On Thursday night I was so concerned about my grammar that I had a very difficult time, so all day on Friday, I asked God to give me facility and freedom as I shared some of the things He had laid on my heart.  While my grammar may not have been any better, at least I felt like I was communicating better because I was freer and more fluid.

A month is certainly not enough to learn a language, but it has helped us move forward to becoming more fluent.  We now feel more confident that we can go somewhere alone without the aid of an interpreter for Charlie. I am far from fluent, but at least I will do better than I would have before. When I translated for him on Saturday night, I realized that I need to work on my vocabulary as well as my grammar. I also now have a better idea of what I need to do in order to keep improving and how to progress so that I will not fall back into the bad habits.