One Year Later...

(Plus a week or so). Some reflections:

Just three weeks after accepting the call, we were going to leave Canada. And furious weeks they were, with sorting through all our stuff, packing, tying up loose ends, Matt’s ordination, and saying good-bye to friends and family. And then that morning came, January 13. We were off to the airport in a snow storm. Off to Mexico, to our first city of residence, Guadalajara, with our little 6 month bump packed safely away, along for the ride. My early memories from those first days and weeks are a mixture of warm welcome, exhaustion, and being overwhelmed. There were Richard & Angela, Jessica, Christianna and Rebekah waiting at the airport for us. I remember Rebekah holding out a bouquet of red and white flowers for me. A whirlwind one day tour of the city (and Matt’s birthday yet too!), and then off to Tepic for the Sunday. Another warm welcome, this time from the church with a luncheon after the service. And then driving the 3 hours back to Guadalajara, just the two of us in our new-to-us ’96 Explorer, trying to find our home in the dark. You know, when you have to turn at the green house, but now it’s dark and we’re not sure where the green house is (and your wife is no help because she’s too exhausted to remember anything). What a strange feeling that was. Where do we live? Where is our home? And is it even safe to stop and ask someone where our neighbourhood is? And then that next morning, off to language school for Day 1. I remember going to the grocery store that afternoon, and having to make a decision about every single thing that went in the cart. Nothing was familiar. Standing in line to pay, I remember leaning over the cart, feeling as if I could hardly stand. (Being six months pregnant probably didn’t help!) 

Yet with the help and guidance and strength of our faithful God, we soon adjusted and settled into our new home and life. What blessed months we had in Guadalajara, attending language school, getting to know the Presbyterian Church there, making friends, and watching the little bump grow, and then… welcoming our little package into this world on April 22. 

Although we were sad to leave Guadalajara and the haven of language school, we were excited to make the big step in moving to Tepic, our city of destination (for the time being, of course).

In some ways, it feels like nothing has come easy. Particularly in the paperwork department. Down to the wire getting our FM3 Visas, down to the very last strand of the wire in getting Naomi’s passport. Much stress, headache and problems getting our boxes shipped here (still not here yet, but hopefully next week!). In each case, things going wrong that you never thought could go wrong. (The latest is a cyclone!) How many hours upon hours has Matt spent doing paperwork. And yet, we so feel that every transition has been easier than we thought. We love the church, we love working alongside Richard & Angela here, we love this city, we love our little apartment, and we love our lives here. I remember walking home from the park about a month ago, with my dear husband and precious daughter at home, thinking, There’s nowhere else in the world I would want to be right now. Always easy? No. Challenging times of transition ahead in this new year? Yes, we think so. Yet, the Lord has been so good and for every difficult thing He has put before us, He has given us all we needed to deal with it. And so we can go forward, with courage because He is faithful!

My biggest challenge still is the language. It is coming, and yet I have a long ways to go yet. You know, when you long to have a deep(er) conversation with someone, and you can’t. Or sometimes you can, but only sort of. Or when you want to get to know them, to show you care, but there’s that wall. But in this too, I have to trust the Lord.

A few highlights from the past few months (yes, we haven’t written in awhile!)

• The bi-annual overnight church retreat at the end of November. One of these days I’m going to dedicate an entire blog entry to this. They are such a blessing to the church!
• The arrival of some wonderful neighbours (in November) – Rev. & Mrs. Bout live just around the corner. Yay for great neighbours who (among many other things) let us borrow their blender to make baby food while we wait for our boxes to arrive!
• Weekly Bible studies in the homes of some of the families of the church. It is such a blessing to see a hunger for the Word and spiritual growth! Matt usually leads 4-5 studies a week, and Naomi and I try to come along to most of them.
• Naomi learning new things and bringing joy to our family each day. She is 9 months old today!
• Blessed Sundays of worship and fellowship.
• Trip home to Canada over Christmas – short and busy, but so good.
• The Lord taking Grandma Van Dyken home the day we left Ontario. We are thankful for the time Matt could have with her yet before we left. What hope we have in Jesus Christ!
• Coming home to Mexico, to our little apartment. Nothing to compare with Grandma being taken home, and yet it was good to be home again. And it felt good that this really felt like home!

And we look forward to a visit from my parents next week! 

Some things you can pray about:

• Pray for the youth of the church. It’s not easy to be a teenager anywhere, but it seems even more so here.
• Pray that the Lord will bless us in the language, and give us discipline for this.
• Pray for the Bout family, that the Lord will provide them a place to serve Him in ministry.

God’s blessings to each of you.

Matt & Anne-Marie & Naomi 

Christmas Service and Potluck in Tepic (Joint Service with the Presbyterian Church in Tepic)

      

En route to Canada!  (The plane was almost empty!)

 

Spending time with the van Popta side (two of Anne-Marie's beloved nieces)

Spending time with the Van Dyken side (a gift for Naomi).

"Grandpa" and "Grandma" de Boer from Chicago.

Visiting the Alpuches in Chicago (contrary to appearances, Naomi thoroughly enjoyed herself).

What's all this white stuff?

Our little family, New Years 2013.

Back in Tepic, happily hosting people from the church!  Here are some dear members of our church.