Marriage

The Two Most Romantic Things My Husband Ever Did

/ trotters41 / 6 Comments

by Elizabeth

I first saw you on a Sunday morning, in Bible class. The teacher asked a question, and I was so impressed by your answer. My heart sighed a happy sigh at the wisdom of your words. Oh how I loved going to church so I could talk with you afterwards about our favorite books and songs.

And you were so handsome, I was constantly trying not to look at you. I had such a crush on you. I don’t think I ever stopped having a crush on you, all through high school. It must have been so obvious to everyone.

Continue reading →

How to Transition to the Foreign Field and not Croak: Six Essential Steps

/ trotters41 / 15 Comments

by Elizabeth

I believe if a missionary family is happy and healthy, they will be more sustainable in the long-term. I also believe that the key to happy and healthy missionaries is preparation. One of the things I’ve learned these past two years is that there is a lot of heartache among cross-cultural workers. After a while, I noticed that often, people’s heartache had common characteristics, and could have been addressed before arriving on the field.

Continue reading →

Trailing Spouse: He Heard, “Go!” and I Said, “No!”

/ trotters41 / 24 Comments

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” Genesis 12:1

When my husband first told me, rather excitedly, that he wanted to apply with Team Expansion to become a missionary in Cambodia, I did not in any way share his excitement. I had many mistaken ideas about missionary life – mistaken ideas that told me, “No! Never! Don’t go!”

Continue reading →

The First Two Years Were Good (Or, How Missionary Life is Like Birth)

/ trotters41 / 16 Comments

-by Elizabeth

I’ll board a jet plane to go back to America soon, for the first time since January 2012. Over the past twenty-two months that I’ve lived in Cambodia, I’ve filled this blog with ups and downs (or, “yays and yucks,” if you prefer). But as I’ve prepared to return “home,” I’ve asked myself, what is my overall analysis of those ups and downs? In the end, which wins out? The good, or the bad?

So I listed all the positive and negative things from my life in Cambodia and compared them. What I found in that list was that, in the final evaluation of this term, the good things won out. And here’s why:

Continue reading →

I’m a Proverbs 31 Failure

/ trotters41 / 39 Comments

“A wife of noble character, who can find?”

Recently, as my husband read aloud from Proverbs 31 over the breakfast table, I wondered if maybe that was a rhetorical question. As in, “can anyone find this woman?” She has an extensive list of accomplishments and abilities. She seems to be able to “do it all,” with skill (check out all the details here). Am I really supposed to be like her?

Continue reading →