What We Learn...

We have been home from our last Mission Corps assignment in the Dominican Republic for 2 months to the date.  We are back in our "comfort zone" for now, but, truthfully, we look forward to stepping out of that zone again in the near future.  Our 2014 assignments were divided this year as we spent 5 weeks in San Jose, Costa Rica at SENDAS in Spanish classes designed specifically for our needs.  After that, we were sent to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic for 4 weeks to serve as House Hosts at the Genesis House where Spanish was the first language of the missionaries-in-training, pastors, professors and guests who stayed there.  We needed everything we had learned from our life-in-Ecuador assignment to our Spanish classes in Phoenix to our classes in Costa Rica in order to understand and be understood.  We unrolled all our Spanish vocabulary and culture and let it spill out in the Dominican Republic.  And, that's not saying much!  Our Spanish conjugation was a test for all who kindly listened, infilitrating sentences with pure infinitives because it was just easier.   Our conversations were infused with a 100% American accent-with an occasional rolling of the -r to authenicate our efforts. We used "free word-order" instead of Spanish syntax.  We did this because we didn't know any better.  Occasionally, we got it right and a round of applause exploded from around the breakfast, lunch or dinner table.  We beamed!
However, we learned that we all got through; you know, to that communication part.
Just like those eggs that we brought home from the market - a tangled mess, to be sure, but the taste, the message was there. "I am an egg, and we all understand that."


In addition, whatever it takes to get the job done, do it. And, like the many motor-cyclists we saw on the roads daily, we used what we had to reach our destination.  And, friends more often than not helped us get there.

We felt patience when someone asked us a question in Spanish, and we had to think, oh so long, before we replied. But we are not quitting!  We are involved within the Spanish community here in Phoenix as we volunteer weekly at the Neighborhood Ministries' Thrift Store...with Spanish speakers at our side!  We are students in a Spanish class and enjoy our semimonthly Spanish Conversation Group where only Spanish is spoken.  We have been challenged, and we like it.  It makes our semi-retirement seem worthy and valuable and full.

Strangely and surprisingly,  God has invited us out of our "comfort zones" and into a challenging second career.  Sometimes, we felt like denested  eggs, but never far from our Protector, our nest.  This summer, we learned many things, two of which included  1) use what we have to get there and 2) don't worry about denesting.  God knows the paths where He has placed us.
....We anticipate our 2015 Mission Corps assignment! And, you'll be the first to know when we find out!
Keep Looking Up!
   J:m and L:nda