NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

There are certain things in life that are completely different than you ever expected.  This can be good and bad and is mostly both.  I can’t explain all of the feelings we went through over this holiday season but one thing I know for sure.  It was hard & different, but full of God’s grace. 

After a “unexpectedley” lonely thanksgiving (dorm girls were gone because Katelyn had Mumps) we pulled out our box of Christmas decorations that we had shipped over here from Michigan.  In the Dorm Storage here we found a Christmas tree, a few decorations, and a large blow-up Frosty-the-Snowman later nicknamed “Ricardo” don’t ask me why! So we started with the small decor’ around the house.  By the weekend the dorm girls were back and we put up the tree, ran lights around the porch, kitchen, and dining room.  Then I set up Frosty “Ricardo” and he was a hit around the neighborhood and became the dorm girls favorite man.  They named Him and gave Him hugs everyday.   First, strange experience:  hooking up christmas lights through a transformer, and buying some 240Volt lights off another missionary.  Second strange experience: decorating the porch outside without being cold or having numb fingers.  Next came going through the Christmas gifts we had shipped over and wrapping!  Third strange experience: not going shopping for Christmas presents, recieving Christmas gifts by mail, and wrapping some gifts from our parents for our kids! 

“Dorm Christmas” was a blast.  We had a party with snacks, gifts, and my mom’s famous “Egg Nog” made not so famous by me!  This was a taste of home but felt strange doing an early Christmas with our adopted girls before they headed home to their own families for break.  Then came time for our own very different Christmas.  Strange: the weather wasn’t snowy and cold but rainy and 70 degrees!  We “traveled” to Grandpa & Grandma Ruse’s house for Christmas eve by opening their presents under our tree while taking video and pictures.  Then Christmas morning we had our somewhat normal traditions and opening of gifts as a family.  Christmas afternoon we “hit the road again” to Papa & Grandma Jurgensen’s house by opening their gifts under our tree while skyping and talking on the phone with them and taking pictures!  It was so hard to be away from our home and family, but we are so thankful for technology.  To be able to see their faces, and talk to them and see things familiar even through the computer was a great comfort.

New Years eve we joined some other couples here for games, and then rode the motorcycle around campus at Midnight supossedly as loudly as possible!  Strange New Tradition:  however, my bike’s headlight went out right away so we went back to the house and went to bed.  Instead of watching football games and enjoying the warmth of the large Ruse Family gathering on New Years Day, I checked ESPN online to see game scores, we played wii as a family, and we skyped with my parents.  It was very cool to be able to walk around my parents house  and see everyone hanging out, see the food, see my new baby nephew, find out my sister-in-law is pregnant, go to the basement and see all my nephew’s and niece’s playing together, and feel like we were almost really there.  Strange: we are 13 hours ahead so many of these experiences with family were after we had already celebrated or the next morning!�
I don’t think I will ever forget this first Christmas away.  It was hard for us, but God is good and brought joy to our families despite the miles between us all!

Tags: New Tribes Mission, NTM

This entry was posted on Monday, January 30th, 2012 at 10:45 am and is filed under Family, Ministry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.