Lifestyle Choices

Posted on October 15, 2013 by scottandjody

We’re into our fourth–and last–week here at MTI.  These last two weeks are focused on cross-cultural transition and living.  What’s that? Here’s a list of last week’s topics:

  • Conflict Provides Opportunities (Monday all day) (“If you are not willing to grow in your conflict management, please don’t go to the mission field, or find a way to leave the mission field ASAP.”)
  • Figuring Foreigners Out (Tuesday morning)
  • Unspoken Language of Culture (Tuesday morning)
  • Lifestyle Choices (Tuesday afternoon)
  • Transition (Wednesday morning) (Crossing the “Cultural Bridge”)
  • Spiritual Vitality (Wednesday afternoon) (How to Stay Healthy in  Adversity)
  • Who We Are Under Stress (Thursday morning) (high-stress simulation)
  • Personal Coaching (45 minutes Thursday afternoon)
  • Embracing Rest:  Sabbath Keeping (Friday all day)

Many of these sessions incorporated lecture, discussion, worksheets, role playing, simulations, debriefing, and personal reflection.  Some evenings everyone was heading to bed at 7:30, mentally and emotionally exhausted.

As a group, we’ve also had a fair amount of sickness, from stomach flu to “fever and chills” flu, to a bout of fibromyalgia by Scott, and  a broken arm by one of the kids.  Prayers are appreciated for health and sleep!

The session on Lifestyle Choices contained a lot of concrete issues we will deal with, and I thought I would share them as examples of our training here.  The session helped us to:

  • Explore our personal values (see the list at the end of the post)
  • Anticipate  stress when our values don’t match our new culture’s values (“when your values get stomped on”)
  • Acknowledge the stress and make adjustments

Also included was a chart listing 20 lifestyle topics, with columns for “My Dreams/Desires,” “My Expectations,” and “Reality.”  Most of these topics are part of our U.S. lifestyle; now we have to decide how we will do things in our new home.

We were warned that it will be impossible to please everyone who will have opinions about our choices:  supporters, team members, family, friends at home, and expatriates and the nationals in our new country!

Here’s the list, along with some personal notes:

  • Language Learning (we’ve decided to do this in Costa Rica starting in January, but we don’t know how long it will take)
  • Housing (this decision will have to wait until we get to Ecuador)
  • Household Furnishings/Goods (except for quilts which Jody will take in a suitcase, we’ll get everything else in Ecuador)
  • Clothing (we’ll mostly take clothes from home but we’ll have to figure out how well they fit in with our life in Quito)
  • Personal Items (electronics, jewelry, etc.; except for laptops and a unicycle for Scott, we’ll take very little)
  • Household Help (that is, whether to have it or not)
  • Health and Sanitation/Precautions
  • Insurance (Health/Property, etc.) (we’re covered by HCJB Global’s group health insurance plan)
  • Transportation/Mobility (we plan to walk or use public transportation)
  • Safety/Emergency
  • Communications/Newsletters/Blog
  • Banking/Checks/Credit Cards
  • Vacations
  • Sports/Recreations/Hobbies
  • Entertainment
  • Church (we are planning on attending a Spanish-speaking fellowship)
  • Community activities
  • Friendships
  • Daily Life & Ministry Schedule (work for Scott will be full-time and on the same schedule as our Ecuadorian co-workers; Jody plans on volunteering half-time with the rest of her day devoted to communicating with supporters and homemaking)
  • Furlough/Return to USA

Want more blogging on MTI?

Personal Values List (Which would rank highest with you–i.e., which would be most stressful for you to compromise on?)

  • Change
  • Tradition
  • Independence
  • Status
  • Choice/Variety
  • Education
  • Having Intimate Friendships
  • Being Part of a Team
  • Law and Order
  • Politeness
  • Equality with Others
  • Adequate Resources
  • Achievement
  • Adventure
  • Effective Use of Time
  • Punctuality
  • Support Groups
  • Rootedness
  • Recreation/Hobbies
  • Physical Touch
  • Freedom to Express Yourself
  • Job Satisfaction
  • Justice
  • Informality
  • Cleanliness
  • Honesty
  • Schedules
  • Freedom
  • Self-reliance
  • Directness
  • Competition
  • Loyalty
  • Respect
  • Mobility
  • Control
  • Centrality of Family
  • Privacy
  • Doctrinal Correctness
  • Honesty
  • Individuality
  • Creativity
  • Job Security
  • Saving Face
  • Respect for Age
  • Church
  • Community Service
  • Deference to Authority
  • Safety
  • Being Influential
  • Knowledge
  • Experience
  • Structure
  • Health
  • Planning
  • Routine
  • Conformity
  • Hard Work
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Microstents, Part 2

Posted on October 7, 2013 by scottandjody

My (Jody) second eye surgery was September 5,  just over a month ago.  Both surgeries went well and my eyes are healing well.  (Here’s my first blog about microstents and my blog about glaucoma.)

A fun thing about my second surgery was being much more alert during the surgery and therefore remembering much more afterwards.  I had a different anesthesiologist who used a lighter hand on the sedative.

Being alert during a surgery has always sounded gross, but it was very cool.  I could see the artificial lens being lowered; it was a glowing disk with wings on each side.  It got bigger and bigger until it popped into place and disappeared.  I also heard Dr. Neale talk his way through inserting the i-stent, and the collective sigh of relief around the table when he said, “There it goes.”

I haven’t yet had a significant drop in my intra-occular pressure (IOP), but Dr. Neale is confident that the i-stent is evening out the normal swings in IOP, even if it can’t be measured.  At this point I’m still using all my drops.

When I’m looking in the distance I really enjoy not being nearsighted.  My vision seems a little clearer than before the surgery, and of course I don’t have glasses in the way.  When I have to look at tiny print, I miss being nearsighted; I can’t take my glasses off and get up really close!  So I hand things to Scott and say, “Read this please.”  At some point I’ll get stronger reading glasses, but I think my eyes are still changing from the surgery.

But, just to be clear, I enjoy not being nearsighted much more than I miss being nearsighted.  It’s definitely a move in the right direction.  I’m very thankful that all went well.

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Ear Plugs & Wrinkles

Posted on October 6, 2013 by scottandjody

Here at MTI in Colorado, lots of big things are going on.

  • We’ve learned how to make lots of sounds we didn’t know existed.
  • We’ve worked through learner-directed language learning activities.
  • We’ve been coached in our language learning plans and in our general lives (AKA counseling).
  • We’ve had growth groups, personal reflection times, language drill groups, and a lot of “community.”

It is four weeks unlike anything we have ever done or are likely to do again, and today we’re at the halfway point.  Friday the “language” staff transitioned us to the “culture” staff, and this weekend we’re doing homework on our conflict resolutions patterns. But I (Jody) want to share a few small things.

Train-2

A lot of trains go by here, sometimes two per hour.  They are much closer than they look in this photo.  We sleep with our window open and they continue all throughout the night.  If I’m in a deep sleep, they don’t wake me up.  But if I’m dreaming or sleeping lightly, they do.  Thankfully they don’t whistle (since there is no crossing), but the engines going by make quite a bit of noise.

Ear Plug

Enter the lowly ear plug.  It must filter out just enough engine noise that I can sleep through trains.  Yea!  (Scott sleeps through them with no problem.)

Mouth mirror

This is a small mirror, maybe 2″ x 3″.  When we do phonetics drills and try to get our mouths into impossible positions to make impossible sounds, we  use these mirrors.  We  look at our drill instructor’s mouth and then look in our mirrors to see if our mouths look the same.

But when I look into my mirror, it’s really a much closer view than I want.  I get distracted by all the wrinkles around my mouth.  And by the lines on my cheeks.  I start thinking, “When did I get so wrinkly?  Boy, I must be really old to have all these wrinkles.  Maybe I’m too old to be making all these changes.”  I got so I really didn’t like using my “mouth mirror.”

But Tuesday morning, my Bible reading plan had me in Psalm 92, and verse 14 jumped out at me:

They [the righteous] will still bear fruit in old age, They will stay fresh and green….

My prayer is that the wrinkles in my mouth mirror will remind me of God’s promises for my old age, and I’ll stay fresh and green.  (Sounds like an Ents draught, doesn’t it?)

For more on MTI, check out these blogs by two new friends here:

Alexis’ blog: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Ka Ka Ka Ka Ka, Hiss!

Keri’s blog: Goo Goo Gaa Gaa.  Muu Muu Maa Maa.

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A Milestone Day

Posted on September 28, 2013 by scottandjody

Our first three-year term with HCJB Global began Monday morning with the reading of this scripture.

“…for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?
And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?
And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Romans 10:13-14

The setting was the morning chapel service at HCJB Global’s Ministry Service Center in Colorado Springs.  After the scripture, many of the staff gathered around, prayed for us. and welcomed us as new HCJB Global missionaries.

While our primary service won’t be “preaching,” our desire in going is to share Jesus’ love so that people who have never heard can believe and be saved.

And, speaking of going, we now have a departure date!  We have one-way tickets on New Year’s Day to Costa Rica for Spanish language school.  When we are proficient in Spanish, we’ll go directly to Ecuador and begin our service.

Posted in Missions, Reach Beyond/HCJB | Tagged | Leave a comment

Summer 2013 Newsletter

Posted on September 2, 2013 by scottandjody

Newsletters photo

Isn’t God great? We think so.

Our newsletter was completely up-to-date until 1:58pm last Monday (the 26th) when I (Jody) received a phone call upsetting all our plans!  We were on waiting lists for our departure training in Colorado Springs, thinking we would be in Oregon until January, but a spot just opened up for us.

On Tuesday we purchased our plane tickets for Colorado Springs, and we’ll leave September 22 for four weeks at MTI (Missionary Training International).  We’ll return to Eugene and leave again, probably in late December, for four to six months of language school in Costa Rica.  We’ll go directly to Ecuador from Costa Rica sometime in 2014.

This left us with the question, “What should we do when a newsletter becomes suddenly out-of-date?”

We’ve decided to send it out anyway, as a great example of the craziness of our lives, a reminder of how surprising and exciting God’s ever-unfolding plan for us is turning out to be, and maybe, a little insight into His sense of humor.

As we move forward in faith, we need a few more supporters to meet our monthly budget.  Has God been nudging you to help us go?  We would love to talk with you.

Jody & Scott

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Seeing Others Go

Posted on August 19, 2013 by scottandjody

Lyon familyWe met Colin and Amy Lyons at our church marriage retreat last April.  Talking with another Faith Center couple who were raising support for overseas missions was amazing.  Like us, less than 50% of their monthly support was pledged, and the road ahead looked long.

In late May we had our big surge up to 87%, and I (Jody) told Amy, “You guys are next–you’re going to have a big surge too.”

Well, yesterday we went to their going away party.  In two weeks they fly to Germany to work  in a Youth for Christ-style ministry with U.S. youth, dependents of U.S. military personnel.  Check their website for more info:  LyonsInLederhosen.com.

We are very happy and excited for them.  God has worked powerfully in the last few months to get their monthly support to 100% (over $6,000/month!), and He has increased their faith and trust in Him through the process.

Vayan con Dios, Amy and Colin!  We have a tiny bit of jealousy amidst our confidence that God will get us to the mission field too, in His perfect time.  And we’re joining you in saying, “Yea, God!”

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Microstents

Posted on July 26, 2013 by scottandjody

At my last eye appointment, my ophthalmologist told me (Jody), “I think you should have a new surgical procedure for glaucoma.  It’s cataract surgery combined with insertion of a microstent to lower your IOP” [intraocular pressure].

“Do I have cataracts?” I asked, since they had never been mentioned before.

“Yes, and they are ready to come out.”

We talked a bit more, then I came home and googled “microstent” and “glaucoma.”  I learned that microstents have been used for glaucoma treatment in Canada and Europe for several years with good success and none of the side effects of the previous surgical treatment (trabeculectomy).  One microstent, the i-stent, was approved by the FDA about a year ago.

The i-stent is tiny, the size of a human hair or ⅓ the size of a grain of rice, the smallest medical device approved by the FDA.  Made of titanium, it provides an inside-the-eye passage for ocular fluid from the area where the pressure is too high to the eye’s normal drainage canal (Schlemm’s canal).

Here’s the i-stent, slightly magnified:

Image

And here it is, greatly magnified

Image

What does this mean for me?

  • Reduction in my IOP, which should slow my vision loss and possibly reduce the number and frequency of my daily eye drops.

Additionally, removing my cataracts will have at least two benefits:

  • My vision may improve!  Glaucoma causes optic nerve damage, and that vision loss is forever (barring a miracle).  But IF any of my loss is caused by cataracts, I should regain that vision.  I’m not holding my breath, but the possibility is very exciting.
  • No more thick glasses. The cataract surgery will replace my clouded lens with an artificial prescription lens which will hopefully correct my extreme nearsightedness.  I’ll need magnifiers for computer and reading, but hopefully no more prescription glasses.

When’s this going to happen?

My surgeries are scheduled for August 1 (left eye) and September 26 (right eye) (8/2/13: right eye surgery moved up to September 5–yea!).

If God opens up an MTI spot for us in August, then the surgery will wait until Ecuador.  We’ve been praying that God would show us if we should wait on the surgery, so this might be a way He would do that.

Want More Info?

Update, August 2, 2013:  My first surgery went well.  My eye is still dilated, so the world is still pretty blurry.  It may be four weeks before my vision clears, and I have a whole bunch of eye drops to take!  I have much to be thankful for.

Posted in Glaucoma | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Just for Fun Statistics

Posted on June 22, 2013 by scottandjody

This blog passed 4000 views last week–amazing!  Since the first post in April, 2012, people from 39 countries have checked us out.  How fun is that?  We have views from all the continents except Antarctica.  Even if some are spammers and others looking for Frodo and Bilbo, it’s still fun.  Here are the countries; those where we know people are in bold: 

Double Digits or more:

  • United States
  • Ecuador
  • Canada
  • Japan
  • United Kingdom
  • Belgium
  • Australia

Single Digits 

  • Iceland
  • Serbia
  • Panama
  • Hungary
  • Romania,
  • Vietnam
  • Germany
  • Netherlands
  • Puerto Rico
  • Colombia
  • Bulgaria
  • Egypt
  • Italy
  • New Zealand
  • Venezuela
  • Poland
  • Argentina
  • Sweden
  • India
  • Philippines
  • France
  • Ethiopia
  • Russian Federation
  • Finland
  • Mexico,
  • Spain
  • Virgin Islands
  • Israel
  • Switzerland
  • Zambia
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Brazil

Thanks for sharing our journey.  

Posted in Ecuador, Missions | Tagged | Leave a comment

He Plants Your Heart

Posted on June 14, 2013 by scottandjody

Recently we shared our plans to serve in Ecuador with a couple from our church.  One spouse said, “Boy, I’d like to do that!” while the other spouse said, “I don’t think I could do it.  I love my life here, and it would be too hard to move and make all those changes.”

What makes selling our house, getting rid of possessions, raising support, and “going” not only possible but (usually) a joy?  The very solid conviction that God has planted our hearts in Ecuador. We don’t feel at home here in Oregon anymore, our hearts are already there.

How did this happen?  It started as, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could serve in missions someday?” Soon our “if we go” became “when we go.”  We visited Ecuador and made our decision.  As we began sharing our vision with possible supporters, our contentment to be here changed to an ache to be there.

Just Emotions?

We know this sounds emotional and subjective.  We don’t know how this certainty will change when we are serving in Ecuador. But for now, God has given us a confidence in Him that has endured and grown through our seventeen months of support-raising.

For those of you preparing to go or already serving, does this match your experience?  How was your process different? Did your certainty stand the test of time?

When the Journey isn’t Mutual

Although we’ve been remarkably in step on our journey, we know two other HCJB Global missionary couples where the opposite was the case.  In both cases, the eager spouse talked the other into a short-term mission trip, “just to try it out.”  The reluctant spouse agreed, hoping the other would be jolted back to reality.  And (you guessed it) God used the trip to change the reluctant spouse’s heart.

We’re no experts, but we’ll risk some advice:  if you can’t imagine going, don’t worry about it.  Place your future in God’s hands and tell Him your life is His; trust Him to plant your heart where He wants you. 

Similarly, if you are the eager spouse, leave room for God to work.  Pray and trust that He will work out His plans for both of you. He will guide and equip you for your journey.  Whether you stay or go, He is always your destination.

But…you might try a short-term missions trip….

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Spring 2013 Newsletter

Posted on June 9, 2013 by scottandjody

Spring 2013 Newsletter

Great news!  May  was very exciting as God provided six new support pledges in nine days and our monthly support zoomed from 67% to 87%!  We will leave Oregon no later than January 2014, and hopefully before.

Read the rest of the story in our Spring 2013 newsletter:

Also, for our Lane County friends, do you know a native Spanish speaker with an extra room or two to rent and a willingness to speak Spanish to us?  When we study Spanish in Costa Rica, we will live with a Costa Rican family.  If we can’t leave until January, we want to learn as much Spanish here as possible and hopefully shorten our time at language school.

We’re taking Spanish classes at LCC this summer (and fall, if we’re still here), and we’d like to do a “home stay” with an individual, couple, or family.  We’d pay rent, share expenses and chores, and be good housemates (references available).  Please help us pretend we’re already in language school!

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