New Arrivals and Old Friends

Just this week we received a new family here into Shell which excited us to no end.  They've come for the year (or more) and are to take on a few roles which may bless us immensely.  The head of the family will be doing so much of the maintenance work that is sorely needed around our small community, his wife will teach our school kids art and music, and their daughters will attend the school for at least a little bit of the time.  However, this is not what we're most excited about.  They've come with a deep sense of love for God and a great desire to bless those around them.  They want to connect, to learn, to grow deeper.  What a humble family they already appear to be.  We had lunch with them today and they were simply so grateful for the food, atmosphere, and camaraderie.  We were grateful too.

We truly are blessed because we as a community get to know entire families well.  That, I don't think, is very much the norm anymore these days in the US.  There, we usually meet one family member--at the gym, in the office, at school, or in any number of other places--but then we never encounter the rest of their household.  We never see family dynamics in play or watch couples interact and operate as a duo. 

Where we live in Ecuador, we get to know the family as a cohesive entity and we can learn from and enjoy them as a whole.  We are privy to the interplay between husband and wife, father and children, mothers and kids.  Here we've gotten to know a number of singles, couples, or families on a fairly intimate basis and have come to really learn greatly from those around us.  In fact, we've enjoyed a meal with more people over the past two months than we normally would in an entire school year. We have averaged about four or five meals a week with others.

There is one particular couple that stands out from the others.  About seven weeks ago we received an invitation from them to go out for pizza.  They collected us in their car built for four comfortably and without batting an eye we rode off to a brick oven pizza place six miles down the road in Puyo.  After a great deal of food, laughter, and fruity soda, they then dropped Doug and I off at the "big" grocery store while they took our kids out for ice cream.  By the time we arrived home, we thought we'd died and gone to heaven:  full tummies, happy kids, and a chance to buy groceries all while being schlepped around by our very generous friends.  They wouldn't even let us pay for our fair share of ice cream or gas money.

Well, we're pleased to report that that little tradition continues to this day.  Faithfully once a week we do dinner out or at one of our houses with these sweet friends (who by the way had raised six kids of their own here in Ecuador). And with our encouragement, they have given us parenting advice, been our biggest cheerleaders, prayed faithfully for us, and have shared any number of stories about their lives and their kids' growing up years that we feel very fortunate to have this surrogate older, wiser brother & sister. 

I guess the point that I'm getting to is that though eating alone at home is normally easier, quicker, and allows you to get to bed earlier, it's not always the best option if you want to grow, learn, laugh, or feel like you've connected in a meaningful way.  I can say for sure that this time around, the investment that we're making in others and they in us is leading to a much more fulfilling experience and is teaching us more about heart issues and life in general.  It's enabling us to make sure that the first-year teacher living next door has a home-cooked meal weekly, the visiting missionaries from the US feel welcomed to Shell, the single mom has a night off from cooking, the family that moved away to another city have a place to stay when they come around for a visit, and, it makes sure that we're being looked after too.  We're living this adventure together. 

If eating with others is out of your comfort zone, I challenge you to give it a whirl.  You may be surprised at what you get out of it.....

Thanks for reading,
Blessings, kim