It's all about relationship

While we were in training with EMM, one of the books we read was called from Foreign to Familiar.
The book speaks about the difference between "cold cultures" (the ones further from the equator) and "warm cultures" the countries closer to the equator.

Friends invited us over to their home for dinner

Cold cultures tend to be task oriented. Culture is based on getting your work completed.

(Zion walks down the path with her new friend)

Warm cultures tend to be relationship oriented. They still get work done but the relationships with the people around them are the most important.  We are from Pennsylvania, a quite "cold culture" environment. I also tend to be a task oriented person. Honestly that was probably the most difficult for me when I became a parent. Suddenly my tasks were interrupted, multiple times.  Perhaps it was God's way of preparing me to live here.

(Families play by the river and fish)

Here are some real to life examples we face:

One is in line in the grocery store. You make conversation with the clerk who is ringing up your order. Despite the fact that there is a line behind you, the clerk gives their full attention to you. The line doesn't move until you are finished your conversation.

I went to workout the other week. Somehow I missed the announcement about wearing our shirts for a group picture.  I arrived just as everyone else was standing for the picture. I tried to convince them that I didn't need to be in the picture. They insisted that I go home quickly and change. One woman loaned me her bike so I could get there quickly. All of the woman waited for me to get the shirt, come back, and stand for the picture.  The funny thing about this is that no one was mad. I made everyone wait to start their workout. They waited with smiles on their faces, talking to each other.

(The picture that shows all the women who waited for me)

A mother of a Deaf girl called Nathanael recently. There was a problem with her daughter she needed to discuss. Prior to speaking about her daughter's problem, she spent the first 5 minutes of the conversation asking Nathanael how he is doing.  

(Some of the people at Bible study)

I worked with a doctor from New York a few weeks ago. I helped him assess patients prior to him seeing them. Since he didn't have a set system, people ended up coming out of order to see him. He became irritated that the system had been breached. He didn't know that most people would wait all day. After they were seen, they will sit and visit with each other. 

(Manuel and Misael)

It is a huge adjustment for me. When we are working on school work, the last thing I want to do is stop my day to invite someone in. That being said we've had multiple times this has happened to us. Over Christmas break, we were trying to find somoene's house and stopped at a friend's house to ask for directions. We ended up spending the rest of the afternoon, talking while the kids played and rode horses.  

Selah Horseback riding

The relationship oriented culture is still in the learning stages for us. We enjoy more of a laid back approach to life. We aren't running from one activity to the next. I have to admit there are times I just want to get things done!  

I hope you all have a great week

Spring

How we connect

Moving is difficult for most people.  It involves transition, change and packing.  We moved out of our culture to a different one, from the known to the unknown.  Only Spring out of the family had done this before.  We were excited and nervous.

When talking with a friend who moved across the US about her daughter's struggles with their move, I realized we weren't alone.  Friendships don't happen overnight.  One must find different ways to connect, and keep connections.

I for one am so thankful for Skype.  I am also very thankful to my brother-in-law who ported my google number for me.  Now with internet I can text my friends easily. It comes up as the same phone number that I've always used.  Added bonus in a country where we pay per text, these are free/unlimited!

The children have slowly developed friends.  They have fun with the other children at church.  Over Christmas our neighbor (who is 10) had cousins from Guatemala over.  We tried to do a mentos diet coke experiment but it was a total fail. (we figure coke light is different from diet coke perhaps?) Our mishap did develop a relationship with her cousin (Zion's age) who went home after Christmas and eventually our neighbor.  Unlike other countries I've visited in our area there isn't a lot of kids just playing in the street. We have to seek out activities.  This is good but difficult.


How do we connect to people in the States?  Skype, What's App, Viber, and my ported Google number are my friends ;).  I just talked with my mentor today and a friend I used to walk with texted me.  I am blessed.  The children Skype weekly with Lucianna who is the child advocate.  They also are able to Skype with family, and friends.

Do we miss the US? Yes we do. Quite frequently. We are so glad for ways we can connect with friends online and in person. Friendships are those that require effort, and we are thankful that there are so many different ways to connect!

Friday busy day..

Friday was a busy day. Excitment was in the air.  We had been anticipating Ben's arrival for over a month.  The countdown was on.  

In the morning, I went over to People store.  They are the ones who sell butter the cheapest.  Nathanael left at 10am.  He had to take a bus then taxi to get to the airport.  

While we were waiting for Ben, we also had to make cookies. We had a cookie exchange to go to on Sunday. To shake things up a little, friends came to help.  There were lots of cookies.  

There was dancing, Christmas movies, Christmas music and play in the pool. 

Dance party!! 

We also had a dog :)

I made the kids go out to play so I could wash the dishes.  

Ben and Nathanael walked down the street from the bus stop. Shouts and excitement ensued!  Poor Ben must've been overwhelmed. 

Of course I enjoyed going through the suitcases! Thanks so much for all you sent us.  More to come on our experiences, and of course pictures!  We are about to spend the week on Thank you notes ;)  :)  

One last post on our trip

I know that the blog posts on our trip have gotten drawn out over a 2 week period.  I hope the anticipation makes  it more exciting to read. 

Thursday our day in Cayo district was "free" originally Nathanael had planned on visiting the Deaf institute that day.  Since they were taking a trip, we re-arranged to visit Wednesday.  The best part of this is Galen and Phyllis drove us, otherwise we could have had a few mile walk from the bus stop.

Since our newsletter had recently been sent, we got an email from Mr. Theisen.  We originally met them at the Belize reunion. They are a part of the Spanish Lookout community.

I will diverge into a short history lesson: The Mennonites in Belize began their immigration by going to Canada in the late 1800's.  After the first World War, Canada was not protecting the rights of these original German citizens(to not bear arms, to speak in German).  At this point, many migrated to Mexico.  In the 1950's Mexican politics made them desire to move to Belize.  They have lived and settled in Belize since this time.  They have their own communities, which vary in the level of conservatism.  Some wear cape dresses, others have more "modern" clothes.  Spanish Lookout community controls their governing, maintains roads, and cares for it's people.  If you are interested in a greater study of this, there is a 2 part video on Mennonite migration to Belize on youtube. 

Mr. Thiesen lives in Spanish Lookout. He owns a part in the chicken hatchery, the one that provides 80% of the chicken to the country.  He and his wife Tina opened their home to us and we had lunch.  They were willing despite the fact that this wasn't their plan for the day.  Their hospitality was so welcoming.  After lunch, at 12:30, when their children would normally return to school, Mrs Thiesen casually mentioned she should call the school to let them know the kids would be late. 

After she called, we thought the kids would rush out the door.. nope.. they played and talked for another half an hour.  Tina offered for the Davis children to go to school with the Thiesen children. I inquired if the teacher would be annoyed with a interruption in her day?  No, she insisted the teacher would love for them to visit.  Abigail and Zion braved the trip.

I couldn't help but laugh to myself.  My homeschooled kids taking a trip to school.  The mode of transportation? A four wheeler. Zion and Josiah weren't even wearing shoes!  What a difference in lifestyle.  Nathanael, Selah and Ni enjoyed touring their property, visiting, and looking around Spanish Lookout.  The highlight of the trip for Selah was the ride to the bus stop.  This one was taken with all of the kids piled in the pickup. 

I really appreciated the approach the Theisen's had to life. They truly are of a "warm culture".  They place much value on relationship and time spent together.  It was helpful for this mom who rushes to "get it all done".  It truly is a blessing to sit back and enjoy.

Sometimes this attitude frustrates us.  Our taxi driver laughed at my frustration with the length of the visa process.  It takes at least an hour to renew our visas(which has to be done monthly).  Most of this is due to people socializing.  Nathanael has had the blessing of approval for  his work with the ministry of education.  We have to remind ourselves though that we are not in the US;and the process of him getting the job (work permit, etc) is still taking a while. 

It is good for us to learn to value relationship. It is an exercise in trust to continue working at relationships when all we want to do is accomplish tasks. 

Prayer requests:

Things would progress with Nathanael's work permit and his job for the ministry of education
For us in relationships with each other and those around us
for us to find a hearing church to call home
wisdom with Spring's nursing license. (possibility of volunteering but how and what time of day)
language growth with Spring (look for a future blog post on this!)
opportunities to grow in friendships with those around us

Thanks so much for enduring this long post today!  Thank you for praying for us!

What we've been up to :)

Sorry for the lack of posting.  Last week my main focus was getting the newsletter out.  I actually mistakenly didn't send it to some people. I am sorry about that, and I think the glitch is fixed.

There has been a lot of activity to catch you up on in the Davis House.  Nancy wrote on her blog about the 10th Anniversary of the church.  I was able to make cookies for this event.  I shared some of the extras with a neighbor and our "taxi driver"'s family (who are also our friends) They loved the cookies so much, they asked if they could come and I could teach the wife how to make them. Problem is we only have a metric measuring cup, a stove that tells the temp in 1-5, and Zephaniah dropped some of the egg on the floor. 

Our first batch came out flat.  I am thankful to Nathanael who about 5 years ago was making cookies several times a week for his job with a student.  We made enough for them to take home. 

I have also been teaching Sunday School.  I started on the first week in October.  Here are some pictures from that.

Our children teach the others about Chinese Jump rope. 

The best thing about Chinese Jump rope is you need very little space to do it in.  :)

 

 

as a fun bonus here is a picture of one if the interesting ways Zephaniah has fallen asleep.  I am making a page in his memory book of all of the interesting ways he's fallen asleep.

 

 

Thanks so much for keeping in touch with us and praying for us. There's more to come this week :) 

 

Spring