Anniversary!

5 years ago today we arrived, bag and baggage, at the Guatemala City airport intending to stay for one year.  It was the first time the kids had been on an airplane.  It was the first time I seriously questioned whether or not God really knew what He was doing.  I remember feeling so overwhelmed it was like I was in a daze.  All I kept thinking was, "One year, Dayle, you can do it for one year."  And that made me feel so comforted.

I didn't expect to ever feel like I was at home here in Guatemala.  I kept thinking of Minnesota as home.  I kept holding on to the fact that I was only here for one year so I didn't need to get attached.  I didn't need to really learn the language.  I didn't need to figure out the open air market.  It was all too much, so I didn't think about it. 

Until God showed us that we were here until He moved us.  Whenever that would be.

So I started looking at places to live and found the home we have been in for 4 1/2 years.  I started making an effort to learn Spanish.  I started to make a big effort to learn how to shop the open air market for my family.  I started to not get so nervous about my kids when they would get sick (we live here, parasites are sometimes part of the fun!).  And I found myself slowly loving what I had been given. 

I'm so thankful that God knows so much better than I what exactly I need for my life.  I'm so thankful that He sees my desires before I even know them myself!  How could I know that in just 5 short years Guatemala would feel so much like home that the thought of leaving, even for a short time, makes me just stressed out!  The thought of not doing soup run or seeing my friends at church or the kids at the base or the DTS students who come and go would make me so sad?  The thought of waking up and not seeing the beautiful valley we live in surrounded by the gorgeous and majestic volcanoes is unthinkable to me now. 

How could I know that I would compare the market with the grocery stores back in MN and the market would win?!  I never guessed that throwing the toilet paper in the garbage next to the toilet instead of flushing it would become so second nature to me and normal that on the few occasions that we do visit the US and can flush, we forget!  And, I love driving here in a passive-agressive sort of way!  I love my street Spanish!  And the thought of not kicking off the Christmas season with the burning of the devil and then walking to Central Park to see all the Christmas lights is unthinkable.

At this point, Christopher has lived most of his growing up years here.  Bailey's memories of MN are good, but, her memories of Guatemala are shaping her.  Alicia wants to make this her home.  What kind of people will this experience make them?  I can't wait to find out.

I love Minnesota and it will always be "home".  But, I'm grateful that there is place in our hearts for more than one "home".  I'm thankful that Guatemala has become home to us and the people here are like family.

Who knew?

--Dayle