Transition

Wanna know what I’ve learned since May? Our lives will ever be in the constant state of transition. Our greatest transition yet was moving to Virginia for two months to live on the IMB’s International Learning Center “compound” for training before we leave for the field. This type of transition would be considered “abnormal” seeing as how none of my other friends and family will ever temporarily, or permanently, live on a compound of sorts for any reason. But as crazy as it sounds, it’s not half bad. And by that I mean, it’ll work for two months and three days.

Our living quarters are quite small. We live in a “quad” with four other missionary units; a married couple with no children, a married couple with a baby, and two journey-girls who share an apartment. Our “quad” consists of four apartments leading off of the common area. Each apartment has a small kitchen nook, complete with stove, oven, microwave, sink, mini fridge, eating utensils and a few cooking utensils, a breakfast nook, two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a laundry nook, complete with washer and dryer. Each married couple, with or without children, have their own apartment; those who are single share an apartment with one other person of the same gender (duh).  Our quad, quad 6, is in a cul de sac of sorts with a playground smack dab in the middle. This is good and bad: good because the kids all play together there and bad because that’s all Waverly wants to do when we leave the house.

We all eat together in the main cafeteria where a staff cooks for us three meals a day. Can’t really beat that. In that same building is a computer lab, library, a few staff offices, and meeting rooms. Attached to that building is Waverly’s “school” for those 4 and under. We have a medical facility where we will receive our required inoculations, mailroom, and an administration office. All of this is on the other side of the campus from our quad.

In the middle of the campus is the “school” for kindergarten and up and children’s library. The adults’ seminars/classes are held in that same building just across a portico.

We do not have access to televisions on campus, nor do we have wireless internet access except for in the computer lab and that building. Transition: We had wireless access all.the.time at home. I write this post in a Word document from our apartment and will post it online when I get to the computer lab later.  We also had a TV at home and I am bummed to be missing Project Runway… L

Yes, we make fun of the living condition here, comparing it to various communal living situations that you may see on TV, but it hit me this afternoon how thankful I am that the IMB can provide all of this accommodations for us so that they can pour into us for two months before sending us to the field to pour into our various people groups. Our employer spends two months feeding us, housing us, providing for us, and training us to do our jobs. And they’re thorough about it too. I am thankful that we have not major expenses for the time being and I am thankful that our job currently consists of learning.

Most everything about our lives has changed in the past couple of months and it will change in the next couple of months, but the Lord has been gracious in all things. We have all made this transition fairly easily. Waverly has been amazing; she loves her “school” and her friends. Chandler and I, on the other hand, have struggled a bit with adjusting to this new way of life. Being homebodies, having people around all the time can be overwhelming; we’ve run the gamut from hanging out with our friends constantly to not hanging out at all. We are still looking for the balance.

But balance is worth finding, even if, in 6 weeks, everything is all messed up again.