This past week has been a difficult one. Emotions running high and a bit all over the place. Moments of sadness followed by laughter. Moments of anxiousness followed by excitement. It’s been hard to truly get excited about the next 3 months with so many unknowns. I’ve been excited for the adventure, but that’s about all I know to be excited about. But as of today I have a family I will be living with. It’s amazing how much that spiked my level of excitement. I have a family there. A family that is eagerly awaiting my arrival. A family that is committed to caring for me and loving me for the next 3 months.
The family I’m staying with isn’t the typical host family. In fact, they’re not Christians except for their daughter Elsa. Elsa grew up in the US with her mom and two siblings. She moved to El Salvador as a missionary with Christ for the City International and has been re-connecting with her dad and his “new family” there. In an email from Elsa to Leah the short term missions coordinator at the base in Omaha, NE she expressed this excitement. “I talked to Pastor Javier and decided that Nikki can live with me and my family. My father and stepmom are very excited about the opportunity. I really pray that this would be a very good experience for all of us and that God would use Nikki to show God’s love to my family. Having Nikki
here will be really great for me (having someone to share life experiences with and talk to) and will be a big blessing to my family in more ways than one.”
I am confident that it is no accident or coincidence that this is the family I’m living with. I feel so blessed to have the privilege to be living in a family that is in need of being shown Christ’s love. It’s just a glimpse of the ways God is going to use me while I’m there and, more than anything, THAT excites me!!! It brings into perspective why I’m going during a time when that is much needed. It’s easy to lose perspective in the midst of all the goodbyes.
Here is a little bit more about the family (as described by Elsa). Jaime (59) is Elsa’s father. He loves soccer, works from home, and has a great sense of humor. He has a big and generous heart and loves to help people as best as he can. He has been married to Bea (36), Elsa’s stepmom, for 8-9 years. Bea is very nice, very loving, and has a big servant heart. She is going to the University for Business Administration to finish her degree. They have two children. Susy is 7 and is in 2nd grade. Kevin is 2 and goes to preschool.
It’s so amazing to think that this will be my family for the next 3 months. I know they will be such a blessing to me during my time there.
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