Well our blog pretty well died while we were on home assignment. With renewed determination to communicate better, there will be some highlights of our 6 months in the U.S. soon, I think.
But for now, well let's talk about Now. We arrived in Jarabacoa around 10:30 pm on February 13. Dylan and Kila went wild when we walked through the gate. We crashed in our own beds and awoke the next morning to begin life anew in the Dominican Republic. First order was to get to the grocery store and begin replenishing the pantry. Then we began to unpack our 10 bags and 4 carry-ons. Next we emptied our office storage room of all the personal items that we packed away while others lived in our house. We were most eager to reconnect with friends and visit the churches to see how things have been going.
To the grocery store on the motorcycle! We had been warned of sticker shock and yes, prices have gone up. Gas prices had gone up and as of the new year sales tax went up 2% and this became the excuse for raising prices period. A liter of milk is 25% more, a pound of coffee 12% more. A packet of 8 match boxes has almost doubled in price. The basics set us back a bit and all this was carried home on the motorcycle.
Why on the motorcycle? We sold our small SUV in August, we now needed to buy a bigger one ASAP. God blessed us with a 2002 Toyota Prado a week after we arrived. We used it for a few days and then it went into the shop to have everything fixed. Used cars come with two prices: the first is the selling price, the second is the repair cost. We are thankful that the total came within our budget.
While unpacking, I heard the question, "Where is my ____?" far too many times. I wish I had a dollar for every time that has been asked in the last six months! With all our travelling, packing and unpacking it was hard to keep tabs on our belongings. But we pushed through the unpacking and reordering of the house.
The house itself is a whole other tale of settling in. We were blessed that other missionaries stayed in our home part of the time we were gone. A vacant home is ripe for robbery. But imagine if you left your house for six months to live in another country and returned. Things are not going to be the same. Some things have worn out, others are in a state of "delayed maintenance" and you will have forgotten some the routine things about your house. So we have a long to-do list and some annoyances to put up with until everything is put right.
We are very glad to be "home." During our travels we sometimes asked ourselves, "Where is home? and What is home?" Our answers included: where our hearts are, where our pajamas are, wherever we are all together, where most of our memories happened. One thing we have learned as global nomads, home is where the heart is. Jesus said, "Where your treasure lies, there will your heart be also." So we may ask ourselves, "Where is our treasure?" Living a mobile life teaches one that your treasure cannot be "stuff" or property, because this is fleeting and changeable.
