I woke this morning in a grumpy mood. My husband had planned a meeting with a local pastor around lunch time. She asked if we could meet at our house and then suggested the menu for lunch. I knew that now it was not just the two to three hours she would be there to talk, but also the preparation time for the meal. My attitude was not very charitable.
After starting the meal, I came to my office to see if there was anything already in print that I could use for Peter’s Wife this month. I am recovering from a two week bout of flu that put me way behind on my preparations. I picked up Sue Eenigenburg’s book, Screams in the Desert. It is a book of stories and devotions about living cross culturally. I leafed through the book and was intrigued by the title, I Gave God My Life, But Not My Toothbrush. After reading the chapter, laughing and groaning, I had to change my attitude about our lunch appointment. Actually, it was the best time we have had with this sister.
Blessings!
Diane
Continue reading 'Not My Toothbrush'»
Ah, we are nearing the end of November. The trees have dropped their leaves. The days are getting shorter and crisper. Time to get a turkey and find all the makings of an American Thanksgiving Feast. Ooops, we’re not in Kansas anymore!
So how do we have Thanksgiving in a hot, sunny, always green place? Can it be Thanksgiving without the turkey, cranberry sauce, and green bean casserole? Of course it can! But it will be different.
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An American who had been to the US Embassy in Lagos and was coming to Benin City, hand carried a note from the Consulate. The Consulate didn’t want to just courier the message, but have someone hand carry it. The note was to inform my husband that his mother had passed away a few days earlier. What to do? What was expected of him by his sister and family? What would our board say he should do?
If we stay overseas long enough, all of us will be faced with this dilemma. Grieving over the death of a loved one at anytime and in any place is difficult even as it is absolutely normal and expected. Living and working cross culturally usually means we find ourselves physically away from immediate family, relatives, our closest friends, and our faith community when a loved one dies.
This month’s article is drawn from Grieving From a Literal Distance by N. Ohanian. Ms Ohanian served overseas for many years and is currently in a doctoral program for Missionary Member Care. She provides practical helps for those who experience grief while living and working overseas and describes how to evaluate if a trip home or professional help is in order.
Diane, Peter’s Wife editor Continue reading 'Grief at a Distance'»
“No hope!” That’s what the report stated so authoritatively. A young mother, tears in her eyes and a catch in her voice, handed me the educational psychologist’s report. In her heart she can’t believe her bright-eyed, healthy looking eight year old cannot learn.
“With God there’s always hope,” I answered.
A smile flicked across her face as she said, “Do you really believe that?”
Our world is no longer like the old song where “. . .seldom is heard a discouraging word.” The newspaper overflows with depressing articles. The economy never seems to have an up-swing and election campaigning becomes more negative everyday. The world is only expressing what’s in their hearts, for they are “without hope and without God in this world.” (Eph. 2: 11-12)
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Our homes are a statement to the world about what is important to us. Why not take a fresh look at your home today and see what it reflects.
Sometimes it is easy to feel we have nothing to say about the way our home looks, especially when we live such lives in unusual places. In some cases we stay in staff housing and feel like we have precious few ways to make it our own. Instead of reflecting what we feel is important, our home may be suffering from indifference. Even worse, we may never allow ourselves to feel at home in our home. Change is just too much trouble and might not be worth the effort. Sure, it’s clean, maybe even tidy, but it feels a little stale.
Continue reading 'A Fresh Look'»
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