Encontrando Alegria

Is this truly my life? 

I’ve always considered myself a planner. Things like lists, organization and structure bring a twinkle to my eye. The consistency they offer is a little bit like a warm blanket on a cold winter evening. The problem is my life tends to be more like a bucket of ice cold water dumped on my head while I’m standing in the snow! I’m truly honest with myself, I kind of like it that way. Spontaneity, going with the flow and living in the moment is where I thrive. Throw in some noisy kids and a little bit of chaos and life is perfect.

We're moving! What? No way? Really? Shocking, considering just during the course of this blog we’ve moved seven times. I’d like to add that those seven moves do not include “bonus moves'' like moving within the same city or our moves prior to this blog. 

This isn't your average move--we’re moving internationally! God is finally allowing us to move to Recife, Brasil. This city and people have held our hearts captive for more than 15 years. We began serving there in 2004 and our heart has never been released from the desire to go and live among the people there. This is the place where God first gave us a heart for adoption and for international missions. Now, it’s our turn to be those missionaries, the ones that are privileged to go, serve and be a part of a different culture.

How are we doing? We’re “going with the flow,” “living in the moment,” and yes, I am grabbing that warm blanket and planning our remaining time in the States. I’m not going to lie... The idea of moving away from all that I know and all those I love is NOT easy. What I cling to is the confirmation of our calling to a new place and the fact that Jesus is always worth it.

How does this affect the kiddos? 

The girls are excited, happy, sad, nervous, cooperative and pretty flexible. Truthfully, I couldn’t ask for more. They will gain so much--new culture, new language, new friends, front row seats to God at work in the world around us. Their view of God is going to expand in so many ways. There are also many things they will lose--time with family and friends, inability to see people we love when we want, the traditional “American teenager” life, and a sense of belonging.

The boy, Bozi, says he’s moving to “Buh-sil.” I hope he has fun there since we are moving to Brasil. He has no CLUE what that means, although we’re talking about new words in Portuguese and a new place to live. Really, a new place to live is kind of the norm for this kid. He’s all about sleeping in a new place. Sleepover is his favorite word!

Isn’t this hard? Yes! We have to figure out the most appropriate educational options for Bozi and our girls. We’ll have to adjust to a new culture. Learning a new language while in my 40’s is not at the top of my list of ideas of a good time. Our kids will grow up as a part of multiple cultures. There’s a name for that too--third culture kids (TCKs). Being a TCK has its perks, but it’s also difficult. I’ll be talking about that in future posts.

A fact we're all becoming very aware of is that the world doesn’t stop. Friends and family talk about plans after we will have moved. The expiration date of the cheese I bought expires after our move date. Even in 2020 when, technically, the ENTIRE world stopped--it didn’t. People still got married, got pregnant, had kids, made new friends, changed jobs and even relocated. Missing out on time with friends, events and daily life is not fun, but for some reason God has always pulled us away from the norm. 

Life goes on. The question is how are we going to live it?

We chose JOY!

We are starting a family project. This is going to be a difficult season, so I have wanted to have a board at home to post pictures, Scripture and examples of gratefulness and joy for a while. The key word in that phrase is “home.” Where is that for us as we’re experiencing nomadic life until we get to Brasil? 

All of my good ideas come after I go to bed, in the dark, while my mind is going 90 miles per hour. This is when I discovered our next family project: an Instagram account and gratefulness board for things that bring us joy and happiness--examples of God’s faithfulness. We’re calling the account “Encontrando Alegria” or “Finding Joy.” Fortunately, it’s portable, too! Here’s the link!

In the future, we’ll try to post eep our adoption blogging and missions blogging separately. Keep your eyes out for a website. We’re fundraising to live and minister in Brasil, so if that’s something you’re interested in here’s a link. Feel free to contact us and ask questions!

In the meantime, where do you find joy?