Debrief

Wow, five months can really go by fast. It’s hard to believe that August 3 was so long ago (feels like just a few weeks). Our most recent (and longest) visit to the States was indescribable, but I’ll go ahead and attempt to give an overview here, as I sort of “debrief" myself :).

Family & Friends: Hands-down, the thing we miss most about the US is the relationships. It’s kinda good that we don’t even realize that we’re missing it while in Vanuatu, but it tends to hit us like a ton of bricks when we get to experience it, especially for a prolonged amount of time. We love Vanuatu, feel like it’s our home, and truly have a “family” here. But, we’ll always be just a shade shy of being ni-Vanuatu (due to culture, custom and language barriers), which means we cherish times with our American friends and family. We had some INCREDIBLE times over the past five months, making new friends, rekindling old friendships, and spending a lot of quality time with family and great friends. What a blessing! Of course, experiencing that kind of relationship non-stop for so much longer than we’re used to makes it that much more abrupt to return to our Vanuatu-life. Rest assured, we’ll get back into the groove here as soon as possible, but we will continue to cherish in our hearts our wonderful time together, and patiently look forward to our next opportunity.

Holidays: As I’ve hinted at in the last paragraph, spending time in the US was a great blessing. At the top of our list was the blessing of opportunity to be with our families at Thanksgiving and Christmas for the first time since 2004. Thanksgiving isn’t really celebrated in Vanuatu (of course), and though Christmas is, it’s hard to catch the spirit when it’s so hot and humid (December is the beginning of summer in the southern hemisphere). We were in Houston for Thanksgiving with my extended family (fun, food, football and films), and spent Christmas in South Fork, CO, with both sides of the family (more fun, food, skiing and sledding). My mom said all she wanted for Christmas was all her kids and grandkids together, and she got it!

OC: I can still vividly remember receiving an email early last year from Kent Hartman at Oklahoma Christian University, asking us to consider applying for the Visiting Missionary position there for the Fall 2013 semester. We were interested in the opportunity, but both Shawnda and I dismissed the possibility pretty quickly, assuming we just had too many other things on our plate. Little did we know that this was a door God was opening at JUST the right time. First, it coincided with our previously scheduled furlough quite nicely. It also allowed us to have our “own place” while on furlough, which meant we weren’t living out of suitcases the entire time. The house they provided was perfect for homeschooling, having overnight guests (including our parents several times), and having students and friends over for dinner. We were in the same town as my brother and his family for the first time ever, and enjoyed the opportunity to assemble with them regularly at the Edmond Church of Christ (where our Bible class availed us of wonderful new friends…some of whom we’re hoping will come visit us in Vanuatu - hint, hint). Our experience as Visiting Missionaries was second-to-none. The administration, faculty and staff treated us wonderfully, and we thoroughly enjoyed getting to know so many students (who, oddly enough, simultaneously made us feel both old and young!). Lord willing, we’re looking forward to hosting four of them as interns or apprentices next summer, and hope that a few others will come visit too (hint, hint).  God knew just what we needed at this particular juncture in our life, and He provided.

Extras: Being in one place for an extended amount of time meant that Titus could attend weekly occupational therapy sessions. As we’ve suspected for quite some time, he has a mild case of sensory processing disorder, and these few months of therapy helped us all better understand how to help him cope with his sensory issues (and he thought it was the best thing ever). Alexis is officially a ballerina, having taken several months of ballet lessons from the Tippy Toes Studio in Edmond. They provided a very laid back atmosphere, which was exactly what we were looking for. Alexis is looking forward to continuing her career in Port Vila, and Titus is looking at starting Karate or Archery for his extra-curricular activity.

Difficult times: I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the struggles we have faced over the past several months. Thankfully, we’ve had opportunity to visit with most of you regarding the specifics of our situation. Losing a sponsoring congregation after almost 9 years together (as well as a few other financial supporters) was a very difficult process to go through, but like they say “what doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger.” There were some dark days as we wondered whether or not we would have the funding to return for Phase 3 of our work in Vanuatu, but the Lord provided richly for our needs, with our final $500/mo need being met the morning we departed from the US. Another positive is that we were never treated harshly, and even the relationships that were ended were done so amicably. In the midst of our experience, I was visiting with a good friend about what we were experiencing and mentioned feeling lost in it all, and he (very wisely) responded, “Eric, you aren’t lost, you're growing.” It got me to thinking that Scripture does indeed use some “painful” terminology (e.g. pruning, discipline, etc.) to describe Christian growth. Looking back, it was actually an amazing experience … as one door closed, God opened another. And I believe we really have come out the other side stronger and more faithful Christians, better equipped than ever to serve in God’s mission. And we couldn’t be happier with our new sponsoring congregation, the Perkins Church of Christ (located in NE Oklahoma).

Future: Twelve months ago (though it seems like just yesterday) we were excited to announce our “missionVanuatu:2025” initiative. The primary reason for the 12 year timeline was the ages of our kids (now 7 and almost-6). Our primary mission field is our children, and we are very considerate of how a major culture change would/will affect them. It was our understanding that the “danger zone” for such a move was between the ages of 8 and 16, and since our children were right at that age and we didn’t think it was time to leave Vanuatu, we thought it best to commit to stay throughout their high school years. Having now had the opportunity to visit with some who have done extensive research in this “Third Culture Kid” area (another blessing of being where we were, when we were!), we better understand that the “zone” really starts around the age of 10 or as late as 12, which means we do still have a three to five year window. As we discussed with most of you in person, our interest and hope is still to remain in Vanuatu through 2025, but keeping our children’s ages in consideration, wisdom dictates that we should firmly commit to the next four years, and reevaluate our future at that time. We would appreciate your prayers as we seek to do God’s will over the near term and long term.

Last but not least, a special thanks to those who supported us financially during our stint in the US - it was truly a blessing for which we are very grateful. Have a blessed 2014! We are praying for you all…