That's a Wrap!

In just a few short days I will be back in the land of plenty, where everything is available to those who can afford to buy them.  You can tell I have my usual ambivalent feelings about leaving home to live out of a suitcase for a few months, being tempted on all sides, while trying to raise money, not spend it, and to lose weight, not find it.

Right now I am surrounded by lists – things to do before we leave, people to see while we are stateside, stuff that needs to happen down here even while we are gone, and junk to purchase and cram into suitcases to bring back in August.  Meanwhile I am consumed with tidying up the house and tying up loose ends I don’t care to face three months and thousands of miles down the road.

With WOTH’s blessing, I’ve decided to take off the month of June to help transition into mini-furlough mode, so you won’t hear from me again until I am in Ohio in July. Rather than leave you dangling, I thought I would write one final post to tie up some loose ends with you, too – an update of sorts.  If I’ve left any other question marks in your mind, leave me a comment and I will attempt to answer it.  How’s that?

Plumbing. Would you believe we are just now almost getting the plumbing problems fixed?  Yep, a whole year of stench and inconvenience, and we almost have it resolved.  Almost.

Techy side.  My dream is coming true as I sing and chat with my little 5-month-old granddaughter.  This week I was blessed to share in her bedtime routine via Skype, watching my son read The Poky Little Puppy aloud to her in the nursery.  What a precious gift technology is to me.

Will they ever forgive me?  One estranged friend I have prayed for recently friended me on Facebook, and another is looking forward to seeing me this summer for this first time in more years than I can remember.  A third just chatted with me the other day on Facebook as though nothing stands between us.  God is blessing there, too.  There is hope, my friends!

Speaking of friends,  I am looking forward to a little reunion with some of my dearest high school friends – the first time in way, way too long.

At the end of my Unforgettable Week, yet another coworker passed away, and I blogged about it here.  Later I read a fascinating article about another fallen hero I never met or even heard of until his death – Jim Elliot’s brother, who faithfully served the Lord for over 60 years without any fanfare at all until he reached heaven.

Now that I’ve gotten you up-to-date I really must get busy on all the other items on my to-do list.  Procrastination stops here – right after I reread all your comments and suggestions from this post  and today’s post.

IRL* See you in July!

What Kind of Apology is That?

Suddenly several past blog posts are returning to haunt me. Was I really the author of that ridiculous post about forgiveness?

Just last Saturday, I had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Again. I sinned against many, and many sinned against me. Basically it was one of my excruciating headache days where frankly no one in my family had a hope of pleasing me -- short of disappearing altogether, but no one took the hint.

The next day, one person bravely approached me and said, “I’m sorry.” (Expectant look accompanied my continued silent treatment.) “For everything,” he added. (Accusing look replaced the expectant one.) “All day yesterday.” (Disgusted look inserted.)

WHAT KIND OF APOLOGY IS THAT? Most of us would agree that a general apology of that sort just does not cut it. I want him to itemize precisely how he hurt, neglected, and offended me, and to express his sorrow and regret with evidence of a repentant heart. I mean really! Does he think I will just erase the whole day for he asking? Without making him suffer?

Thankfully guilt flooded my heart before any snarky words escaped my lips. The Holy Spirit practically shouted at me how often I do the exact same thing. I simply give a quick oops-I’m-sorry-I-sinned type confession just to maintain a position of intimacy with the Lord. It just hit me over the head that maybe God wants me to actually itemize my sin sometime, not so that I will suffer with the weight of it, but so that I will experience the relief of having it lifted. Without confessing my sin, am I really turning from it?

This past week has been a continual battle with more than a fair share of difficulties and trials. Within 24 hours, my beloved MacBook began to fail (with no handy dandy Apple store to run to for help), the car battery died while I was in the city with a granddaddy migraine, and finally my Kindle died, too (but has been resuscitated, thankfully). The only way I could possibly hope to experience victory was through warfare prayer against despair, but I didn’t dare enter that level of prayer without being fully cleansed from all sin and unrighteousness.

The problem with my MacBook is largely because I had overloaded it with too many programs without deleting all the garbage that had accumulated on the hard drive. It didn’t have nearly enough space for all the processes I was requiring of it.

Spiritually I am in the same boat as my computer, running way too many applications with way too much garbage (and sin?) cluttering my heart, mind, and daily agenda. With one simple step, I can have unlimited gigabytes of spiritual, mental, and physical power available to me. Without oversimplifying or belaboring the point, I just want to admit that I am returning to the Power source, and trying to set things right.

Meanwhile I commiserate with those of you who battle with long-term, debilitating illness. I guess you just learn to compensate for your lack of energy by doing a lot less. How you stay sweet with your loved ones I will never understand.

Oh, and I did forgive him-who-shall-not-be-named for all his many offenses. Bless his heart. Why should I expect him to remember what he did? I can’t remember myself any more.

IRL* For now I am trying to clear my foggy irrational brain and figure out where to address all my apologies.

Tapering Off: Does that have to be the norm?

This summer is all about family. I am consumed with travel itineraries. Dh is attending a family reunion with his mom in Wisconsin this week. Tomorrow, 16-year-old dd is visiting her big sister in Colorado before we all meet up in Illinois. Next week I will leave with the remaining two children, ages 12 and 14, to spend a week with ds and his fiancé before the wedding (!). Ds from Canada will join us for that week, too. The following week I’ll see the eldest ds and his wife, who are expecting my first granddaughter!

With the anticipation of many joy-filled reunions coming up, I’ve been on the Lingo phone and Skype a lot more than usual. Suddenly we can’t wait to see each other, so we are chatting almost daily. After the wedding, I’m sure the visiting will continue at a higher pace than usual, until it gradually tapers off to our norm, which is a couple of weeks between communication. Eventually real life consumes us all.

It’s like going to see the dentist. Before a check-up, I tend to pay a lot of attention to my teeth, trying to get them cleaned up before getting them cleaned. (How dumb is that?) Then after they are professionally cleaned, I am super diligent to brush and floss for the first few months, but when it’s time for my next appointment, I find myself digging out the floss again.

It’s inexcusable how neglectful I get the more time that passes between visits, whether with friends, family, or dentists. I might even argue the same applies to household help. We dash around tidying up the house if a maid is coming to clean, and then we work hard to try to preserve the clean house once she leaves. That never lasts long, though, unless we are expecting company. Clutter eventually reigns (or rains?).

Unfortunately, the same principle also applies to my times with God. The more I hang out with Him, the more I want to. Then if I am not super careful, I can easily fall back into bad habits of rushing through “mandatory” conversations with Him each day, allowing clutter to take over my daily agenda.

This summer I took the 90-day challenge with one of my readers I am blessed to know IRL. (Thanks, Inky’Spot!) We’ve been reading through the whole Bible since June. It takes me over an hour most days, and even longer if I journal, pray, and think over what I have read. It’s been a fabulous experience. The more time I spend with Jesus, the more time I want to spend with Him, just like with my family and friends.

Today is day 57, and I up to Jeremiah. I have no idea how I will carve out time for this luxury once I fly up to be with my family next week, but for now I am hooked.

IRL*Keeping up with adult children, cleaning house, flossing teeth, diet, exercise, daily Bible reading, and warfare prayer…. Discipline is such a virtue worth pursuing and maintaining.

"ASK JAMIE JO"

Surprise unveiled! Yes, ladies, what we’ve been waiting for is this: a separate password-protected forum that will provide a more private place strictly for women serving cross-culturally, where we can get down to the nitty-gritty and discuss the things that concern us, stir our hearts, bug us, and make us laugh. [Editor's note: Although the forums are still in the research and development phase, we will keep you updated with the launch date. How could we stifle JJ's unabashed enthusiasm?]

In the meantime, I am proposing we have a monthly “Ask Jamie Jo” blog post where we post someone’s question or concern, and then have an open forum for you all to post your solutions or viewpoints. We'll use the current comment section to do that.

Don’t you love it? I sure hope you do, since I stated three times last week that you would.

The benefit of an “Ask Jamie Jo” question is to allow you to ask things you might not feel comfortable posting if you had to sign your name to it. Being in the line of work we are in does not prevent us from having occasional marital disputes or even (gasp!) personality clashes with our coworkers and conflicts within the Christian community. However we do need to be discrete in addressing these publicly. Thus, the “Ask Jamie Jo” feature. Once we get the forum up and going, "Ask Jamie Jo" will move there.

The forums will not be exclusively tied to this particular blog, but will provide a safe place for us to discuss articles from the onlineMagazine, movies and books we recommend, things we are learning from the WOTH Writer’s blog, etc. You could even “Ask Jamie Jo” about things I have written here. For instance, Cindy Blomquist was asking me last week for an update on the Friday afternoon Bible study I mentioned leading in Spanish. On the forum we can tie up loose ends like that.

Can you tell I am seriously jazzed about the potential for this new WOTH Forum?

In my spare time, I love to read the different blogs listed on Coffeegirl’s sidebar. It’s a way for me to connect with you and get to know you. The forum will make it even more personal. Blogging sometimes feels like speaking to an empty auditorium, but a forum is community. We may not always agree with each other, but we will learn to love each other better online and IRL as we see different sides of potentially hot topics.

Until the forums are up and running (pray for our dear techie guy in the WOTH office who got dumped with this great vision!), let’s start with our first “Ask Jamie Jo” blog post next week. Send your questions to Cindy (editor@womenoftheharvest.com), and she will select one for me to address next week. Let her know if it needs to be anonymous or if we can use your name. When needed, Cindy can sign your name appropriately like on Ann Landers and other columns, “Friendless in Mexico,” “Sleepless in Saigon,” “Snarky in Singapore.” Things like that.

IRL*Creating community EXCITES me!

Is 2DAY Gr8 4 U?

My big accomplishment for June was learning to send text messages. Ever the frugal missionary, I love sending a quick text for half the cost of a one-minute call. My kids have laughed at my early attempts to use this technology. I’ve finally figured out how to punctuate, but my spelling is often intrstng. It took me a while to discover why the word “can” always came out “2n” and “will” looked like “wik.” For a while I was convinced my phone was faulty. Now I love it.

For less than a nickel, I sent a text to my college daughter to pick up milk on her way home from class one day. It was cheaper than driving a separate car to the closest store. On a side note, I do miss the corner store (tienda) back home. As slowly as I thumb type, I might have walked there and back in the same time, but I digress (and exaggerate).

All this instant communication is in sharp contrast with the total lack of contact with my husband the past few weeks. He’s been in Mexico hosting short-term teams from the States. Last Wednesday I received a couple of emails from the church whose youth team was in Oaxaca, concerned about the 6.2 earthquake not far from the ministry site.

Since they were working in a secluded area lacking cell phone service and Internet access, I didn’t expect to hear back from my husband until later in the week. I’m used to that, but there wasn’t much I could do to reassure the parents back home. I was convinced the group was fine. (They were.) I later learned they had slept through the shaking; but they did not, however, miss out on the opportunity to update their Facebook status with such sensational news reports.

This incident got me thinking about the new generation of missionaries arriving on the field, both young and old. It must be difficult to adjust to the lack of reliable instant communication they are used to 24/7. What the old-timers consider a tremendous blessing, having even sporadic Internet and cell phone coverage, the new folks must perceive as a challenge.

Someone recently asked what the WORST things are about being a missionary--she wanted the nitty-gritty. The inside scoop. Before I share my response, I want to pose the question to you.

Maybe for you it is the communication issue. Maybe not.

I suspect the answers will vary depending on how long you have been on the field, so please include this in your comment.

First, I want to hear from you. Next week, I’ll answer the question more fully from my viewpoint as a (reluctant) old-timer.

IRL*Now I’m tri-lingual.

My Techy Side

Today, once again, I am thankful to be living in this particular time in history. I appreciate the blessing of modern technology. Now I can keep in touch with family and supporters, not only with email, Facebook and blogs, but also with VOIP (voice over), phone lines and Skype. It keeps the communication two-way. I love that!

When my dmil* (refer to Jamie-Jo Speak in sidebar) suffered a stroke a few months ago, we got the news right away. Dbil* was able to make a local call from Ohio to our Lingo phone here in Mexico and keep us in the loop. We can make weekly calls to dmil even though she has no Internet access.

In the fall I used Skype to connect with my daughter before visiting her in California. She had not been home for ten months and wanted me to bring some clothes and keepsakes she had left behind. Using the web cam, I walked through her room and showed her each item in her drawer and closet while she instructed me whether to pack it, store it, or donate it to the “missionary boutique.” I felt like the thoroughly modern mother.

Taking my techy side up a notch, last week I attended my first ever Cyber Bridal Shower. My ddil*-to-be (my son’s future bride) attended a bridal shower at her home church in Wisconsin. So I wouldn’t feel left out, she put a computer right on the gift table and then called me on Skype. Via web cam, I could watch her open all her presents. We chatted back and forth—almost like we were in the same room. I met some of her friends and relatives and even one of her bridesmaids. All via computer. How cool is that?

Another way we enjoy this technology is on Cyber Sundays. Each week we download sermons from our kids’ church in Simi Valley, California, where they are attending Eternity Bible College. We invite other English speakers to our house to watch podcast sermons of Francis Chan and other good preachers—the same sermons my son and daughter watched live the week before.

Lastly, we’ve also used technology to connect with supporting churches. Once we had a long-distance, live interview with a pastor who wanted to introduce us to the congregation. That was the simplest meeting we ever attended. All we did was straighten up the room, make sure the lighting was adequate, plug in the microphone and web cam, and then visit with the pastor as we were broadcast on a big screen. From Mexico. It boggles the brain.

In some of my imaginary time travels I see myself listening to “goo-goo, ga-ga” and talking baby talk with my yet unborn grandchildren sitting on their mothers’ laps watching me on a computer screen. It’s not the same as living in the same town with loved ones, but it sure is a nice consolation.

I just love the possibilities for staying in touch. Thank you, Lord, for technology!


IRL* Let's put our techy, digital side to work and participate in the contest...

______________________

“Sign of the Times” CONTEST!!!!!!!!

Win a $15 iTunes gift card by submitting a fun photo depicting the clash of living in the 21st century while living in your global community.

For example, a mental picture I have, but never caught on film, is of an indigenous man plowing his field the old way with oxen, with a cell phone on his belt and a Megavoice (audio Bible MP3) in his pocket....

Submit your photo to editor@womenoftheharvest.com by next Monday, March 29 @ 10:00 am (MST). We’ll post the photos and then vote on our favorite one!