Dear Family and Friends,
I remember our first month in Nicaragua (November, 2008). It felt like a tropical vacation . . . the palm trees; the beautiful sunshine and warm temperatures in November; breath-taking sunsets on the beach. And I remember thinking, "This really does not feel at all like the mission field. I thought it would be so much harder to live here."
Four months later, the reality of life here began to sink in. And I remember a friend saying to me, "In order to live this life well, you need to do the things that will increase your shelf life." The kinds of things she was talking about may seem to some to be "extra" or "a luxury" for a missionary . . . things like taking regular vacations with your family to leave the city of Managua for a day or two or three; a home in a higher elevation (which costs more to rent); or an annual trip to the U.S. The "shelf life" items will be different for everyone, but they will have the same impact – they will serve to reduce stress, which will likely increase the amount of time the missionary family will stay on the field.
This past year has been the most stressful year our family has experienced in terms of life changes/health issues/and new experiences. It is also a year that did not include a trip to the U.S. which has always been one of our family's "shelf life increasers". Below, I have listed the major events of this past year. Many of the items on the list were wonderful experiences, but required a significant amount of time and energy. Other items on the list were difficult experiences and ones that caused trauma or discouragement. Writing out this list has given me an understanding of why Dan and I end this year so exhausted.
Major Events of 2014:
Jan: Organized Love & Logic Workshop Event (60 people attended/Hosted speaker for 10 days)
Jan: Lisa's Dad has a heart attack weeks after visiting us in Nicaragua
Feb: Sensed God's call to adopt Daniel
March: Visit from ACSI accreditation team to determine whether NCA receives reaccreditation (Dan leads this process)
March: Earthquake #1 with multiple aftershocks – NCA is out of school for 3 weeks which created a lot of extra work for the staff as they needed to create on-line lesson plans for students to complete at home.
April: Our kitchen floods multiple times due to a cracked pipe
May: Daniel comes home to live with us and we start the fostering process
May: Lisa breaks ankle (8 days after Daniel's arrival)
June: Host River Rock Church Team #1 (our first time hosting a mission team)
June and July: Host visitors from the U.S. for two weeks
Aug: Host River Rock Church Team # 2
Sept.: Will's best friend moves to another country
Sept: Lisa's computer crashes along with all of her school plans (due to electricity going out)
Sept: Plan and host Rebekah's 15th birthday party (around 50 people attended)
Sept: Lisa starts to feel sick; gets treatment for parasites
Oct: Major construction on road outside our neighborhood – our trip to school went from taking 5 minutes to often taking 30 minutes in stop and go traffic. A trip to the grocery store went from taking 10 minutes to 45 minutes. Our house shakes so hard due to construction that it wakes Daniel from his nap regularly. Much more dust in the air and in our home causing allergy issues.
Oct: Major construction at the grocery store began – Daniel refuses to go into store due to noise which makes getting groceries difficult.
Oct: Multiple electrical problems in our home; Dan replaces shower heater multiple times and it keeps breaking. We have still found no solution.
Oct: Lisa still feeling sick; takes another round of parasite meds.
Oct: Electricity is frequently off and on which burned out our internet several times
Oct: Earthquake # 2 – school is out for 1 week
Nov: Daniel's adoption is finalized! This process involved many, many meetings with the government adoption agency, our lawyer, immigration, a judge, and the U.S. Embassy. Cost of Nicaraguan side of the adoption: $2,100.00 (we will start the US side of the adoption this coming year)
Nov: Lisa is hospitalized for dehydration and to explore digestive issues; received diagnosis of "Irritable Bowel Syndrome" (which is activated by stress and anxiety). Cost of hospitalization: $2,000.00
May thru Nov: Daniel has been a part of our family since May. We know that God called us to receive Daniel into our family and we all love him very much. We, however, would never have anticipated how difficult this adjustment would be for all of us. Dan and I have been amazed at how well Rebekah and Will have been doing through this transition, however, we can also let you know that there have been many very difficult moments/days/weeks for all of us due to the intensity that comes with learning how to respond to Daniel's needs. As we talk with other adoptive parents and read books and watch videos and take an on-line class, we have learned that the difficulties that we are managing are normal and that healing and a new normal does come in time.
August thru Nov.: I continue to home school Rebekah and Will. Both of them do work more independently now, but I am still responsible for planning their assignments weekly and correcting their work. Both take an on-line class (these classes involve a great deal of work) and Will attends NCA for two periods in the AM. This means that our family is involved with 3 school systems - Daniel's preschool (Mincaito - administrated and taught by Nicaraguan teachers), NCA, and an on-line school. Dan has often said that I am working two full-time jobs right now - home schooling Rebekah and Will and caring for Daniel who requires one on one attention throughout the day.
Over the six years that we have been serving in Nicaragua, Dan and I have watched many missionaries come and go for reasons that include burn-out, divorce, illness, conflict with other missionaries, and as a result of a child who was struggling. We are reminded, as we observe families leaving the field for these reasons, that it is important to be proactive about our family's physical and mental health. This past fall, we decided that we needed to re-engage in the things that will increase our shelf life which meant making some changes in our life to reduce stress. One decision that we made was to go back to the U.S. for the month of December to rest and renew for this coming year. We were not expecting Daniel's adoption to be finalized by the end of this year, but the fact that this did happen made it possible for us to consider this trip as well. God also seemed to confirm this direction by providing plane tickets that were the cheapest tickets we have ever purchased since living in Nicaragua.
We have now been in Texas with my sister and parents for a little over two weeks. Last week we spent time at a time share resort with my parents (my sister was working) and for the first time in a very long time, it felt to me like our family was able to relax and just enjoy each other. It has also been a joy to watch my parents and sister build a relationship with Daniel. In addition, we will enjoy our first Christmas in the U.S. in six years. We would appreciate prayers that we could stay healthy, that we would rest well, and that we would continue to learn how to blend and grow as a new family.
Thank you once again for reading our updates and for your interest in Nicaragua and in our family. We continue to be amazed at how connected we feel to our supporters even after 6 years on the foreign mission field. We are so incredibly thankful for your faithful support!
Peace to you,
Lisa (Dan, Rebekah, Will, and Daniel) Van Zoest
