This last year has been a doozy. If you’ve followed our updates you may have picked up hints. But, this blog-space has been all quiet. So, here’s a review of the last year. Bonus at the end: some lessons from along the way.
Review of 2021. A Timeline of Praise and Trials:
January: Packed up all our things, scrambled to get work done on our truck, gather supplies and books for Malawi, and clean up our before leaving Scotland permanently (We miss our friends there!)
February-May: Warmly received by the Partains, and the cousins' small homeschool co-op.
Dan reconnected with an old seminary friend, and tried to wrap up his PhD, while Bethany homeschooled in yet another region of the world while continuing the demanding work of her BA. We made new lifelong friends there.
June-August: Enjoying the glories of the PNW
Bethany continued to work on her BA in between seeing so many old friends, long summer days in Grammy's house, seeing Grampy and Uncle Will, and Dan preaching up a storm about what the Lord is doing in his Church in the world, and especially here in Malawi. Then, a last-minute and very difficult outpatient surgery for Beth that sent us on a tailspin of slow recovery for August (and even to today).
September-November: Arrived in Malawi!
Stumbling through the first few months of life here with excessive heat, and various encounters with cockroaches. Dan hit the ground running, beginning to teach the week after we arrived. Bethany pulled together yet another homeschooling routine and curriculum for our boys while working for the Allender Center and continuing her BA. Ruthie thrived in her homeschool co-op with 3 new friends.
December -January: Bethany brilliantly designs and finds quality materials on a thrice-weekly renovation scavenger hunt in Lilongwe. Dan was very involved in supervising the renovation of our 100 year old mission house, while grading exams and papers, and Bethany completes her BA!
January 15th 2022: Moved into our house. A place of abundance, stillness, space, fresh air, relatively few bugs, and constant power and water.
We praise God for all the life, and fun, and friends, and support we’ve received this last year. It lifted us up and kept us from being run down.
Lessons from the Road
God not only sustains us. His way is to teach and mature and strengthen even as we persevere. So here are a few lessons from our sojourn this last year:
Relocating is always dislocating because you lose your people who help hold you together
Only gnostics and fakers pretend they don't need their stuff. Home is where your stuff is.
When you are moving, your stuff no longer serves you, you serve your stuff.
Your social status, political views, health, and opportunities can all drastically and genuinely change depending on where you are in the world. And you can be just as well-reasoned in both views. The whole truth is exceedingly broad.
Power to protect yourself, buy goods, food, and shelter, etc. is extremely important when you are in the vulnerable position of traveling. Even better than getting more power: Dear Christian friends who gladly share their power, homes, and friendship with you to protect you and bless you.
You can't pack friends, but God always, always prepares at least one friend for you... usually more.
God is peculiarly kind to the broken-hearted (see the next blog post on the tale of the orange blankey).
Here are some pics from our time back in the States this year.
