I started this blog to post updates about our work during our time in El Salvador and Honduras. I stopped writing in this blog for reasons that escape me now. I feel like posting again. Maybe it is a bit of longing to be back amongst my family in Central America, but today I feel compelled to post.
So, I guess I should do a short recap:
In January of 2010, Lori and I decided we might want to be missionaries in El Salvador for a year. In March of that year we visited El Salvador for several days, just the two of us. We were hooked. We moved there in July of 2010 bringing Ruth Erin and Nate with us. We worked primarily with the La Palma congregation for most of our stay, though we worked some with the San Ignacio congregation, and more and more with the Ocotepeque congregation, in Honduras, as our time there came closer to an end. We returned to the U.S. in July of 2011. Lots happened between those two Julys. Wonderful, marvelous, dreadful, spiteful, happy, joyous things.
Now, it is more than two years after returning to the United States. So from recap, to catch-up:
I interviewed over the phone with a company in Tulsa, OK while still living in El Salvador. I applied for a position within their company, but was interviewed for a different position. After two face-to-face interviews, I was hired. After nearly two years, they and I both realized that the position for which I had applied would have been a better fit for both of us, but that ship had sailed, so they parted our ways. I harbor no ill-will towards them, they made the right decision, but I still feel guilty for not living up to their expectations. Since June of this year (2013), I've been looking for my next career opportunity.
That's it. That is the recap of my life back in the States. Hollow isn't it?
Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of other things going on during that time.
Lori: Lori got reacquainted with one of her best friends. Through that association, she became friends with her friend's friend. That new friend hired her, and Lori is now enjoying a wonderful job with a wonderful company who has wonderful owners! One of Lori's sisters has given us a new niece and very recently a new nephew - both by adoption.
Ruth: Ruth returned to using her first name - but I still go back and forth calling her Ruth and Erin. She has completed her sophomore and junior years of high school. She got a job in the gift shop at the Jenks Aquarium. She has learned to drive and has her driver's license. She has had her senior pictures taken. She has applied for and been accepted to Oklahoma Christian University, though hasn't yet made a definitive decision to attend there.
Nathan: Nate is a full-on teenage boy. He has developed an interest in baseball, cross country, and airsoft. He is a decent outfielder, great behind the plate as catcher, and to his surprise and ours - turns out he is a really good first baseman. He is doing well in school, too, and followed in his sister's footsteps and joined the band. He plays the euphonium/baritone - first chair. This summer, Nate became much more than my son; he became my brother, accepting Jesus as his savior in baptism.
So, yeah, life has continued, chock full of events and happenings. Yet, I still feel like a fish out of water in this country. It is hard to explain, but even though I've made new friends, put down some roots with my new church family here, and even become a part of a civic organization (on the board of directors two years now) - I still feel like I've only just come back to the States. For more "wordy" thoughts, read my next blog post.
So, I guess I should do a short recap:
In January of 2010, Lori and I decided we might want to be missionaries in El Salvador for a year. In March of that year we visited El Salvador for several days, just the two of us. We were hooked. We moved there in July of 2010 bringing Ruth Erin and Nate with us. We worked primarily with the La Palma congregation for most of our stay, though we worked some with the San Ignacio congregation, and more and more with the Ocotepeque congregation, in Honduras, as our time there came closer to an end. We returned to the U.S. in July of 2011. Lots happened between those two Julys. Wonderful, marvelous, dreadful, spiteful, happy, joyous things.
Now, it is more than two years after returning to the United States. So from recap, to catch-up:
I interviewed over the phone with a company in Tulsa, OK while still living in El Salvador. I applied for a position within their company, but was interviewed for a different position. After two face-to-face interviews, I was hired. After nearly two years, they and I both realized that the position for which I had applied would have been a better fit for both of us, but that ship had sailed, so they parted our ways. I harbor no ill-will towards them, they made the right decision, but I still feel guilty for not living up to their expectations. Since June of this year (2013), I've been looking for my next career opportunity.
That's it. That is the recap of my life back in the States. Hollow isn't it?
Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of other things going on during that time.
Lori: Lori got reacquainted with one of her best friends. Through that association, she became friends with her friend's friend. That new friend hired her, and Lori is now enjoying a wonderful job with a wonderful company who has wonderful owners! One of Lori's sisters has given us a new niece and very recently a new nephew - both by adoption.
Ruth: Ruth returned to using her first name - but I still go back and forth calling her Ruth and Erin. She has completed her sophomore and junior years of high school. She got a job in the gift shop at the Jenks Aquarium. She has learned to drive and has her driver's license. She has had her senior pictures taken. She has applied for and been accepted to Oklahoma Christian University, though hasn't yet made a definitive decision to attend there.
Nathan: Nate is a full-on teenage boy. He has developed an interest in baseball, cross country, and airsoft. He is a decent outfielder, great behind the plate as catcher, and to his surprise and ours - turns out he is a really good first baseman. He is doing well in school, too, and followed in his sister's footsteps and joined the band. He plays the euphonium/baritone - first chair. This summer, Nate became much more than my son; he became my brother, accepting Jesus as his savior in baptism.
So, yeah, life has continued, chock full of events and happenings. Yet, I still feel like a fish out of water in this country. It is hard to explain, but even though I've made new friends, put down some roots with my new church family here, and even become a part of a civic organization (on the board of directors two years now) - I still feel like I've only just come back to the States. For more "wordy" thoughts, read my next blog post.
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