Some of you will recoginize the Re-entry stress part from the Livesay Haiti blog. It was so good that we wanted to share it here too. Nathan wrote this for our church newsletter and added the re-entry stress part. Enjoy!!!


Re-Entry Stress
By Nate Yonker

Have you ever heard anyone say the following, “ I went on a mission trip and my life has never been the same. I just can’t get those people out of my mind!” This is a phenomenon called “re-entry stress. This is a very real feeling that people have after traveling abroad and seeing the poverty that most of the rest of the world live in. The following is an article I took off a blog a while ago. I could not explain it any better than this.

Re-Entry StressThis is the process that you may experience upon returning home. Re-entry stress or reverse culture shock, generally is experienced to a greater degree the longer one has been in another country. Disillusionment with America and American Christianity play a part in any re-entry stress that is experienced.Initial ReactionsIf this is your first trip outside your home country you will be exposed to things you have never experienced first hand before, such as the plight and poverty of many in developing countries. It is not uncommon upon returning home to become disturbed and even bitter toward America’s opulence and waste.When you return you will be excited to eat the “Big Mac and large fries” you have been craving. Your family and friends will be proud and excited to see you an you will experience a “high”. You have just conquered the unknown, been used greatly by God and you will be the center of attention. Soon, however, this “high” drops and re-entry shock may begin.Following are a few examples of possible reactions you may experience. Be prepared to deal with life back home in light of your new experience. All short-term ministry/missions workers will experience some degree of re-entry stress.1. Self-concept – Any life-changing experience can cause you to re-evaluate who you are in light of the experience. Questions about the meaning of life and its direction may be a part of the re-entry process. You may decide never to go outside the United States again or you may discover that there is a call on your life to ministry outside the United States. Questioning life can be good, but the uncertainty of the answers may cause some stress.2 Value Change and Choice – Clashes between you and those to whom you return may occur in several different areas, such as material possessions, family life, racial prejudice, national priorities in ecology and politics, and Christian community conflicts.You may face the problem of integrating what you have just seen with what you see around you at home.
Your eyes may be opened to the shallowness of Western Materialism and you may want to react by telling others they are wrong to own so many “things”, eat so much food and waste so much.3. Expectations – You will have had many expectations for your trip about the culture and language differences, the new and exotic country and God’s purpose for you making the trip. However, you may not have expected the reactions you may encounter when you return home. You may find that you feel like a stranger now in your own country. You may have expected your family and friends to be as excited as you are about your experience and become hurt if they show little or no real interest about something that has made a tremendous impact on your life. Realize that many will just not be able to understand what you have been through. This seeming lack of interest can reinforce in you an opinion that American Christians are just not interested in the rest of the world and are simply lovers and pleasers of self. You must guard yourself from becoming resentful toward family, friends and American Christians.4. Sense of Loss – You may experience a sense of loss over new-found friends and places or from being disconnected from the rest of the team. Your recent experience is not the nitty-gritty reality of everyday life. Being in a strange country, away from all familiar cues and the security of familiar faces and places can facilitate a tendency to become extremely close to fellow team members an when you return home you may experience a sense of void. It may take sometime to readjust to your life as it was before your trip. You may also feel a loss of purpose and self-importance. God has just used you greatly to minister to the needs of others in a different country and when you return this purpose may seem somewhat lessened.

For those of you who have been on a mission trip, you are nodding your head in agreement right now. For those of you who are getting ready, or thinking about going on a trip, you are most likely questioning whether this can happen to you. For those of you who know someone who has been, or is going on a trip, you might be understanding them, and what they are going through a little better. If you attend Lighthouse that is about 100% of you!

Mission Mobilization was started 9 months ago. We had a simple vision. If we could inspire and enable people to go on mission trips, not only would the Gospel be preached and the Kingdom advanced, but when people returned they would have a fire in their soul that could not be extinguished. This summer alone, 42 people will be dealing with “ Re-entry stress .” This could prove to be the most exciting time Lighthouse has ever experienced! Are you ready to join in and have your whole perspective of life changed? Many more trips will be available in the future. Next month I will tell of some ways you can get involved without having to leave the area. Take some time this summer and talk to one of those returning and find out how God has changed their life. The fire of revival has started to burn, lets fan the flames together and let God turn them into a roaring inferno!

It was kind of late and the girls were getting a little silly!!! I couldn't resist sharing pictures of Rhonda and Kaitlin. they were a little addicted to the chocolate fountain!!!


I also want to wish all you Mothers out there a very Happy Mother's day!!!!

Jason and Rhonda Hoppa were at the party last night with us! Jason and Rhonda are friends from church and also friends with Kaitlin.
they are in the top picture. Kaitlin and her sister Hannah are in the 2nd and 3rd picture.

Last night we went to our friend Kaitlin's going away party!!! The food was awesome! Ate way too much!!! It was such a fun night!! Here are just a few pictures. This room was built on the back of Kaitlin's aunt and uncle's house!! I think it can hold around 75 people and it was a great place to have a party!!

Just some saturday scenes from around the house. I cannot wait. We are going to a Guatemalan dinner tonight. A friend of ours has an aunt and uncle that are gourmet chefs and they are putting a going away party on tonight for a friend of ours that is going to Guatemala for 3 months to go to Spanish Immersion school and to help out with a mission down there!! I will try to take my camera tonight to get some pictures!!

I love this time of year where all the flowers start coming out! I had a nice surprise today when I recieved a dozen roses!!
No they are not from my husband or my children. they were actually from one of our neighbors!! They are so pretty. My neighbor said that he has a friend that drives a truck and the roses were not good enough to keep but he told my neighbor to go ahead and give them away to anyone he knew!! I haven't seen roses for a long, long time so I will not complain how I got them!!!

This was one of Nik's art project that he had to do for school. He had to make a person out of pipe cleaners and clay. this is Jack. He is a skier. I thought he was pretty cute!!!

Happy Mother's day Mom!!!!!!!!!!







Thank you for being such a wonderful Mother and Grandmother!!!
The Lord truly blest me the day that I was adopted into your home!!
I couldn't imagine calling anyone else MOM!!!!!

I have been having problems uploading pictures to my blog. Hopefully I have solved the problem!

My first picture here is of our good friend Sango and his son Tomani (sorry Sango I cannot remember how to spell his name)

Sango goes to our church with us with his wife, Karen and 3 beautiful children. He has been teasing me for awhile now that I would never get a picture of him for our blog and a few Sundays ago I sneaked my camera in and snapped a picture as he came into church!!! Sango is such a nice guy and very onfire for the Lord! He is planning a Mission trip with 3 other men from our church in July to go visit his own villiage and some surrounding villiages!! Sango we are so blessed to have you as a friend!!!

I have gotten some emails that I have not posted anything lately. I apologize I just have not had a ton to post about. The weather is getting nicer though so I hope to get out and take some pictures again.

Nathan just wrote this article for our chuch newsletter! I loved it!!

Unity - The Heart of Mission


Have you ever stopped and noticed that the world we live in today seems to thrive on competition? Already at very young ages our kids try to compete with each other to win their parents approval. Then as they grow older we teach them to compete in sports, to be the best in their class at academics, and to look better than the other kids. This culture is just as strong in the adult life. We want bigger houses, better behaved kids, higher paying jobs, and so much more. We gage our success based on those around us. Even our country has become a nation of competition. Our political party is better than the other. The issues we believe in are the right issues. We try with all our might to make others believe as we do. The competitive nature has even permeated into our churches. We try to have better music, more people attending, better programs, even believing our denomination is better than the rest.
God does not call us to compete with each other. Quite the opposite is true. He calls us over and over again to live in unity with each other. Although unity is hard in a divisive culture, the Bible gives clear answers on how to obtain unity. In Philippians 4:8 Paul says Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy- meditate on these things. Paul knows that as humans we tend to always have our glass half empty. We can look past ten good things and focus on one bad. When we dwell on the bad our attitude towards God and others becomes negative. We become irritable because the bad thing is consuming us. Through this arguments and division are sure to follow. This is the normal path of the sinful nature. If we dwell on the good things our attitude towards God and others becomes a positive one. We praise God for all the good He is doing and ask others to join us in that praise. Unity in the faith soon abounds.
So what do we have as Christians to dwell on that will bring unity? Again Paul gives us the answer in Ephesians 4:4-6. There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism; One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Wow, does that sound like a call to competition? So often as Christians we jump right to issues without having a common starting point. As Christians we need to first realize that we are unified through our God, our savior Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit that dwells in all who earnestly call on His name. When we realize this issues melt away through the power of that unity. This was the atmosphere of the early church. Acts 2 :40-47 tells of a church that was unified in faith and doctrine. Who met daily and praised God for all He was doing, and were willing to sacrifice anything (except that faith and doctrine) to help a brother or sister in need. It is this kind of church that so many people around the world are looking for. Especially, it seems, young people. People are looking for something real, for people who are unified because of their love for Jesus. If we show them this it won’t be hard to convince them to accept our Savior.
I know by now you are asking, what does all this have to do with missions?
The answer is found in the Jesus’ high priestly prayer at Gethsemane. This passage, found in John17: 20-21, gives the purpose for unity. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that you sent me. Stop for just a minute and read the last sentence again. Understand the depth of what Jesus is praying. Unity verifies that Jesus was sent by God to be our savior! No wonder Satan tries so hard to divide the church, by dividing us we deny the validity of the gospel! No wonder we are exhorted so often to make every effort to be united. It is for this reason we go into the mission field not only telling people about Jesus, but also showing them our love for each other. This is what the world is looking for! As we interact with people let’s show them that our God is real by setting our minds on things above, by dwelling on what is good and pure, and being unified through our one and only savior, Jesus Christ!

Nate wrote the aricle in the last post late last night for our church newsletter. I thought it was awesome and wanted to share it with all of you!! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

Light Bearers

For those of you who have been to the Lifeline mission in Haiti the picture is a familiar one. On a hill overlooking the mission stands a 30’ cross. This cross is visible for many miles around. It is also, I think, the best place on planet earth to have personal devotion time. The view from up there is quite stunning. In one direction there are mountains as far as the eye can see. In another direction there is a great valley that ends at the beautiful Caribbean ocean. In yet another direction lays the village of La Digue.
In November I woke up early and made the trek up the hill to spend some personal time with God. As I sat there meditating I was witness to the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen. The sun came up behind a mountain and the sky erupted in shades of pink, purple, blue, orange, and yellow. As I sat there amazed by this display a sound from behind me grabbed my attention. It was a baby crying in the village below. For the first time the contrast of this country made a mark on my soul. Suddenly a wave of emotion came over me and I cried out to God wondering how He could have so much power and majesty in His creation but yet allowed all this sin and devastation to spoil its splendor. I then heard God say, “Look up”. I looked up and above me was that cross. It was then that God said, “ You stand between my glory and these people. I have chosen you to take the message of the cross to my people.”
At that moment I realized that the contrast I was seeing was no different than the contrast we see every day. At any moment we can see the glory of God but at the same time see the depravity of man. God has given all who call on His name the honor and privilege of bringing the good news of salvation to a dark and hurting world. That may mean traveling to a far away place or it may mean sharing at work or with a friend. Wherever it is remember God has chosen YOU to show the world HIS glory.
At that same cross, just a few weeks ago, 13 short term missionaries gathered around to sing praises to God. It was well after dark, and with no streetlights for many miles we were able to see more stars than we could imagine even existed. One of my favorite verses is Philippians 2:15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. Just as the stars penetrate the dark blanket of the night sky and stand out as a contrast to the darkness, so we are to penetrate the darkness of the world with the light of Jesus. We are set apart, known to others as different, and a contrast to the ordinary. By being set apart we bring glory to the Father as it says in Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.
God has called us to bring the gospel to the ends of the earth. The world does not need status quo. They need the light that only Jesus can give. He has given us that light to bear in His name. Let us honor our Father by being good stewards of that light so we may be called faithful in the final day.
God bless you as we shine His light to the world and I’ll see you at the cross!

 

I just love this picture of Nik and Issac (Livesay) We were allowed to hand out a toy and a blow pop to each child after they ate lunch (around 400 children) It was so much fun. This picture was taken by Troy and I just love the intent looks on the faces of Nik and Issac as they talk to this little Haitian boy.

Yes this is pure bliss on our faces!!! It was a true blessing to be able to share this trip with my wonderful husband who also leads these trips. 

I realized in my last post I forgot to explain the picture where we are all sitting in the little room. After church the Pastor and his wife wanted to feed us. They brought all 14 of us into the room and they had all these chairs set up in the room. The room was about the size of a very small bedroom. It was so tight. However we had more than a few laughs about being this close to eachother. Good thing we all like eachother because they actually had a buffet type table set up however we could not move so the people in the front row had to hand plates of food back. The food was very good. We had chicken legs, rice and beans, tomatoes, greens, plantains (looks like a banana, tastes like a potato) these are not very good boiled but I love them fried. They then taste a little bit like french fries. 

I really enjoyed Haiti. I have to say I was not sure what to expect. Like I said before when you get off the airplane your first thought is how heartbreaking. After driving for an hour you realize how breathtaking this country is also. The kids are the sweetest. They all want to talk to you. Yes they all ask you for money but how do you make them realize you do not have money on you either. When Nate was in Haiti in November they would all ask for one dolla. Now they ask for 5 dolla!! I guess inflation rises in Haiti also.


This picture is priceless. We were at a church service in a town called Luly. It is near the ocean. Church was awesome!! Their praise was like no other. They do NOT hold anything back. They are not worried about what the person is doing next to do them. They do not care what others think of how they are praising their Lord. They just let it all out and dance and shout and sing at the top of their voice. We have so much to learn about that. The Holy Spirit is so evidence in their worship.

My prayer is that we can get over our hangup and worries about what other people are thinking and just really learn to Praise the Lord. The pure joy in the faces of the people was just so evident. I will add some of those pictures in my next post.




This pictures was taken at sunset at Wahoo bay. This flower was so beautiful!!! 

Just a few pictures. This picture is of Robenson. He was our translator this past week. He does a wonderful job.