Growth from discomfort (9.17.13)

Growth from discomfort (9.17.13)

            We are raising two daughters and like many parents, we tend to want to protect our children from discomfort or pain.  But sometimes good growth comes from discomfort or pain.  My oldest daughter Grace (Maddie), 10 years old, recently read Where the Red Fern Grows.  It’s a great story about a young boy who learns lessons about unconditional love, God's plans, and the value of working hard for what you want.  Its also about pain, and grieving, and real loss. 

            I read the book when I was young so I monitored where Grace was in the book until the final night when I knew things would get tough to read.  I sat on the bed with her and waited for the tears that would surely follow reading things like this:  "Just before he drew his last breath, he opened his eyes and looked at me. Then with one last sigh, and a feeble thump of his tail, his friendly gray eyes closed forever.”  Ugh.  Even knowing the way the story ends, it still hits me in the gut.  Once her bawling stopped, she resumed reading but then the story line got worse and she sobbed even harder.  

            Naturally, my 8 year old, Emmie, wanted to read the book to find out what was so sad.  Here we are a few weeks later and we reached the tough parts of the book again last night. Kim and I had to trade off reading the story out loud because we kept choking up on the words.  It was painful stuff but somehow it was wonderful to share grief and joy.  Reading that allowed us to discuss loss, and how God uses people and situations for reasons we can't always understand.  It also showed the girls that not every story has a Disney ending.  It showed real life. 

            We are moving to Chad, Africa.  A place where real life is happening.  A place where there is joy and pain, and immeasurable need, and unconditional love.  And a place where God has a plan.  I recently read a description of what Jesus "could have" been thinking just before He began His ministry.  How He could have stayed in the comfort of a carpentry shop but He didn’t.  He knew how His story would end, how there would be pain and suffering but He went anyway.  He knew that good growth can come from discomfort or pain.  In comparison, the discomforts of little girls reading sad stories or even moving to Africa don't seem so big.  But they are big.  My girls are grieving the loss of toys, friends, favorite trees, and a childhood home.  The entire family is uncomfortable with losing comfort.  But we are hopeful because we are going to offer comfort to others.   And we are going because despite the challenges there will also be joy and growth… and we have faith that we know how the story will end. 

Love,

Mason, Kim, Grace (Maddie), & Emmie McDowell

P.S.  Maddie has decided she wants to be called Grace (her middle name).  Why not? We could always use more grace.  

            Psalm 139:9-10   

                  9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, ¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

 

Selling out (7.2.13)

Selling out

            We managed to successfully sell about half of our belongings AND our house in a great neighborhood to prepare for our medical missionary service next year.  Now we rent a comfortable home with acreage on the side of a small mountain with less "stuff" and we are still happy.  Ok, maybe Kim will be happier once all of the boxes are empty, but it was a good exercise to show us that we didn’t really need "more" to be satisfied. 

            So what have I learned in this process?

- Sometimes less is more.  No matter how long our service will be in Africa, I hope I have right-sized my standard of living to something more modest.  I had Emmie do the math and we have wasted $2.7 trillion in mortgage and taxes and extravagance living how we lived.  I didn’t check the numbers but multiplication is still a work in progress for her.

- Kim is Type A+++.  I knew it already.  I love it.  She is so organized it is amazing.  She even labeled the kids so the movers would know where to put them.  No detail too small.  I, however, still can't find my car keys or toothbrush and I think I can hear a cat in one of the boxes in my basement.  I thought I gave them away?

- Kids are resilient.  We took them away from some things they loved.  Yes, there was some disappointment but they always adjust to a new normal.  Now we are planning a tree fort, preparing for our missionary training in Michigan for 3 weeks, playing piano, learning French and just being…normal.  OK, maybe some of us are more normal than others.  I also bribed them with weekly ice cream boluses. 

- We love the internet and we miss it.  There have been delays getting internet service at our rental house and occasionally catching a fleeting wifi signal is suboptimal at best.  I guess we are being prepared for absent or slow connection speed in Chad.  Please pray for Google Fiber to sweep through Chad in the next 12 months.   On second thought, pray for paved roads or eradication of malaria.  I'm sure Google doesn’t need our help. 

-Our needs are being met!  No matter what hurdles we have faced, they have been removed or reduced to manageable size.  We appreciate each blessing and prayer offered to us.  Even though we have doubters and our own self-doubt at times, we are excited about the present and the future.  Now we just have to figure out how to condense our home into 12 suitcases over the next year...  

Can someone please label the kids for me?

Love,

Mason, Kim, Maddie, & Emmie McDowell

            Psalm 139:9-10   

                  9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, ¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

Why we should go (6.4.13)

 Village in exotic Chad, Africa seeks extremely pale American family for full time residency.  Interested applicants must meet the minimum standards to qualify:

·      You LOVE LOVE LOVE  oppressive heat

·      You are willing to dislike rain for several months and finally wish it would come back soon

·      You have at least 6 recipes for beans and rice

·      You have an aptitude for speaking English slow and loud

·      You enjoy challenging your immune system with mutant strains of virus, bacteria, parasites and worms

·      You feel like Mayberry was too large of a town

·      You are comfortable driving a moto in sand, clay, or water past herds of large horned cattle

·      You think roads should be unmarked, unpaved, and unsafe

·      You like the sound of drums in the night

·      You like the sound of sweeping at dawn

·      You think bugs SHOULD be super loud all night long

·      You can swim faster than a hippo or your swimming partner

·      You believe electricity makes you spoiled, so less is more

·      You are poor at managing money so having no income is a good alternative

That may be a bit of a stretch in some ways but its not too far from reality.

It is true that Chad is a nation with the highest maternal mortality rate in the world and is burdened with poverty, unemployment, illness,  and malnutrition.  However, given the amount of sun exposure, they probably have terrific Vitamin D blood levels.  You just have to look from the right angle to see the balance between good and bad. 

O.k. Despite the not so subtle differences between Chad and the U.S., I found myself drawn to a small village in southwestern Chad.  In the midst of the pain and suffering that is a daily reality, I found welcoming people with huge smiles, children playing and parents doing their best to raise healthy families.  I also felt an inexplicably strong urge to stay.  Bere Adventist Hospital has a tremendous need for willing and able volunteers to join a community of committed missionary expats and locals.  There are amazing families already there who are doing rewarding across the region.  They were the pilgrims and we get to jump in long after the Mayflower crew got things up and running.

I used to wonder how other families did it. How did they "quit" and finally respond to the call? The first step was the hardest, as I convinced myself that the job, house, and money can wait;  After that its just faith and planning.  I do feel like moving to Africa is a calling.  The kind of call that can't be blocked or ignored like a crazy old girlfriend.  Honestly I'm still amazed that I didn’t have to talk Kim into anything.  It was the exact opposite of my marriage proposal when she begged me and I finally caved in and said yes… or something like that.  The details aren’t important.  The point is, I think I had already planned in my head that we were moving to Chad before I returned home.  After speaking with Kim and Maddie and Emmie about my feelings, and praying, and consulting with people we trust, the family actually agreed to make a change.  Our house sold within days of being on the market.  Our belongings are being easily sold too.  The entire process has been…easy.  I'm sure God has a plan for us there and we will face challenges and hardships, I just hope that doesn’t include spiders or olives.

Without a doubt, I am a Christian that sometimes struggles with faith and action. Despite a long, long list of shortcomings, I am focusing on the simplicity of what Jesus called us to do: love God and love others.  And so we are going in June 2014… to Africa, to love and serve in a place where we are needed most. 

Visit us in the U.S., or starting next year in Chad, or online  http://whyweshouldgo.blogspot.com

We will save some beans and rice for you!

Love,

Mason, Kim, Maddie, & Emmie McDowell

            Psalm 139:9-10   

                  9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, ¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.