Hello Family and Friends
I figured I would go ahead and write a post about how traveling has changed our lives. I get the feeling, that when we return, we are going to be asked multiple times. So here goes, as best constructed as I can, a response:
Do you feel like a different person?
After making the decision to move to a different country, you are opening yourself up to vast lifestyle changes and differences. That in-and-of itself affects your mind and how you view interaction with your own family and others. For example: Your "comfort zone" will have to expand or your going to live as a shut-in recluse with no social interaction wherever you go.
We have only traveled and lived here in Ecuador, but I can say with a good bit of certainty that you will change according to the place that you are living in. Having only a North American living background, then moving to South America, you're hit with culture differences immediately. It's obviously not your native language, government laws are completely different, and importance is put on family much more than things you can purchase. The later being the biggest change in my mindset and thought process.
If you're reading this you probably know I am a Christian. According to two tables of the Ten Commandments ( 1-3: Love the Lord your God with all... 4-10: and love thy neighbor....) having relationships with others is how we were made, and an extreme joy we get to experience because of God's grace. That being said, it's evident that that is really important when it's the one topic unanimously brought up when people are on their death bed. You don't hear people say, "Oh, I wish I wouldn't have taken holidays off from my job." Or, "Where's my I-pad." People that are on death's door realize that they will not be taking anything with them, so the most important thing they can see, is that the relationships they made here on Earth were not only lasting, but precious and eternal. I have always thought that family and friends were important, but didn't have close to same understanding as I do now. This is the main idea that has changed since traveling.
What was life like there?
Secondly, our main goal when heading out was to minimize the amount of stuff that we had. The amount of junk that we either sold or gave away was REMARKABLE. We had only been married for two and half years before we moved, and you would have thought we had been married for fifty by all the stuff we had in our house! BTW, shout-out to Casey Owens for letting us use his space to store the things we needed to keep. Thanks brother. After getting rid of most of our belongings, we arrived here with only some clothes, a blanket, a cast iron skillet, and a Ninja blender (which wasn't exactly necessary but whatever). Having a budget, we only purchased the things that were necessary to live here. And we didn't buy them all at one time, it was over many months. You're forced to improvise in certain ways and to learn to do without. Which was a valuable lesson learned for Victoria and I. Hang drying clothes, hand washing all dishes, not having super hot water in the shower nor having ANY hot water at the sink, not having fast food places to stop at for a quick bit, not having a car or a bike to go places whenever you want, and not having a tv or cable. Some North Americans would be like, "Just shoot me now." But I can say this: Once you have gotten rid of things like these and realize it might take a little more work, you get a particular kind of joy that you won't find anywhere else. Plus it made me respect all the household things my wife has been doing this whole time while I was away at my job. So to summarize a little, not having a drier, tv, dishwasher, etc. makes you spend more time with and invested in your family. Now when we return am I going to use the dishwasher we already have? Of course, but my perspective has changed considerably. I like when my wife washes the dishes, I think she looks beautiful doing it! I don't look down on her or think women are any less than men! She is helping take some of my stress away so that I can enjoy something different. And who knows, maybe while she is washing the dishes, and I'm not looking at a tv, we can have a great conversation about something. It's these kind of every day joys that we get to experience when we aren't captivated by some sort of temporal materialistic thing. According to Eph. 5:15-17 we are held accountable for our time here and called to use it wisely. What better way than to invest it in the relationships that you have been given in your friends and family.
What did you do there?
Thirdly, the time that we have been here has allowed me time to do two things: learn a new language and study God's Word with conviction. I didn't have to have a job while we've been here, since the standard of living here is much less than the States and we have been renting our house out. I've had ample time to do whatever I've wanted to do. It turned out that the majority of my time was invested in the two things listed above. Learning a new language is super cool. I actually learned more about English while trying to study Spanish. Now I get to have the pleasure of creating relationships with people that can only speak Spanish! We've made tons of friends here from youth to older adult families. Had I not learned Spanish, I would have never had that opportunity. And then the second thing I listed above, I couldn't even put into words how life changing it's been. I don't know where you're at religion wise if you're reading this, but the perfect coherency and truth that is in the Bible is incredible. If you're skeptical or think that having faith in Jesus is ridiculous, I would highly recommend just looking into some of the things that the Bible claims and then backs up with historical validity or that science points to. Not to mention the fact the there couldn't be science if there wasn't a Creator (check into that claim if it rubs you the wrong way). After examining these things, it points to an Eternal and Unchanging God, and then from there you'll see, not only the need of a savior, but the reality of Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection. It's all there. If you're reading this and you ARE a Christian then you'll understand when I say my heart and mind have been molded 100 times over since we've been here. I've been humbled, encouraged, trained, discipled, humiliated, persecuted, and rebuilt in SO many areas. I hope that this pace of conformity continues when we return to the States, because I cherish it more than anything! It's done nothing but add joy to my life in every aspect. In marriage, in ethics, in battling passivity, in dealing with anxiety, in logic and reason, in moral behavior, in relationships immediate and secular, and many many more.
Conclusions
The gist is that we have only been here for a year and a quarter. In this amount of time we both have changed immensely. It definitely was not a waste of time. We weren't "running away" from our problems like I have heard people say before when people move to another country. And the ways in which we have grown can be brought back to North America for practical use in everyday life. It has been a great experience and I would love to share it with anyone that has interest. I love you guys and thank you for taking the time to read this. Feel free to comment below.
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