Archives for 2007

The Invisible Woman

Peter’s Wife began for women working cross culturally who felt invisible. Our goal through the years has been to remember our worth. One of our members sent this wonderful article that so well describes how moms often feel. It introduces a book by Nicole Johnson called, The Invisible Woman. Be encouraged!

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I’m on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I’m thinking, “Can’t you see I’m on the phone?”

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Healing Encouraging Words

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Today’s newsletter is not about speaking a language like Russian or Swahili or Tamil. It is about the language of love. My husband wrote this article for married couples, but the principles apply to conversations in our family, among our staff, and even with nationals. Our words are powerful.

How old were you when you learned to talk? Very verbal children might say their first words at 10 months. By age two you probably had a vocabulary of 100 to 200 words, and the ability to form simple sentences. So you might say that you’ve been saying words all your life. But the real question is, “What have those words done?” Sure, millions of them, even most of them, are gone and forgotten, having served their momentary purpose. Others, though, had profound and lasting consequences.

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MK- Fit in or Misfit?

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MKs live in a rich mixture of cultures, but often wonder whether they fit in or are misfits. As parents we see the struggles and may find it hard to know what will really help. We sometimes feel badly that they are missing out on a normal childhood. But when we were called to the nations, He also called our children for a special purpose. Their identity will develop through a beautiful combination of multiple cultural experiences.

Our children face challenges their peers in their home culture never face. When we understand the difficulties MKs face, we can better guide them into successful adjustment. God has a plan for our children. Their cross cultural experiences can enrich their lives and make them a blessing to many people. [Read more…]

Strong Wife, Quiet Husband

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PWs and PW husbands come in all personality styles. For this issue of Peter’s Wife we are looking at the strong wife and the more easy-going, quiet husband. How do they manage in a cross cultural situation?

Many PWs have strong personalities or they wouldn’t survive in a cross cultural situation. These women are gifted in certain areas and are capable leaders. Some of them are married to strong, visionary, high-energy husbands and have the usual adjustments to submission and cooperation. But for strong, capable, verbal women married to more easy going, quieter husbands, the adjustment may be much harder.

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Icing on the Cake

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Single, yet called! It is a dilemma for many women working cross culturally. It would be nice to say, “God has a husband for each one so they can be safer and less lonely.” But that fits our romantic ideas more than it does reality. Over the centuries many single women have been among the pioneers in many hard places. We know that God sets the solitary in families, but it isn’t always with a husband, but rather a family of His choosing. Single women serving God model commitment, obedience, hard work, and contentment. They encourage all of us.

Shanna, one single-minded servant of God, wrote her story to share this month.

Before making the decision to become a single cross cultural worker, I first gave up my belief that I had to get married. I even went so far as to say that I’d never marry a national, and the Lord must want me to remain single, as He was sending me to a far-away country with no husband. I decided to let the Lord be enough for me. And He is.

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