Finding the Grace Givers
A few months into our time back in the States, I chatted with an older gentleman about our move. When I told him about our son, he asked with...
Category: Change/Transition
Displacement
Flight. Gunshots. Phone calls. Frantic packing. Hurried goodbyes. Faces taut with fear. Questions without answers. Everything, gone. Arrival. Strange beds....
When Wandering
“Where are we going today, Mom? What are we going to do?” One of my daughters begins almost every morning with this, before I’ve drained my first cup of...
Always Learning {The Grove: Learn}
Every year of living overseas keeps revealing more deeply that to live overseas is to be a lifelong learner. What you thought you knew about God, the world, people...
When You Hide in Your Baggage
I left my beloved boarding school in Germany and my parents’ home on the field in France when I turned eighteen. I was headed to college in a new...
How to Welcome Her Back
Your loved one is coming back! After time in a place you couldn’t pinpoint on a map before she fell in love with it, she’s coming home. You will...
How to Say Hello When You Have an Aching Heart
Goodbyes feel like death because they are death. Goodbyes are the death of what has been. It will not be again. Even if you see this place, this person...
You say “Hello” and I say “I’ll Stay”
Sometimes the greatest culture shock we experience comes from our interaction with other expats and teammates on the ground. We have just arrived, have a thousand questions, and don’t...
Goodbyes are Awful {The Grove: Goodbye}
I was ten years old for my first, genuine goodbye. Our church prayed for us before we left for our initial move to Mongolia. I sobbed on the sanctuary...
A More Complicated Story
A few months ago, while we were back in the States for the holidays, a dear friend asked me how I thought I had changed since moving to Australia....
