Reflecting on 2011

I read this quote in a devotional I was reading yesterday, and it reminded me a lot of what this past year has looked like for me.

“Deliverance is when God brings you out of a fiery trial that was meant to destroy you. Total deliverance is when, like the three Hebrew children [Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego], He brings you out without even the smell of smoke on you. You see, it’s possible to be delivered but still be damaged.”

Delivered, but damaged. I started the year sicker than I’ve ever been in my life. I could barely walk, I was in constant pain, and I was vomiting more times than I could remember to report to Chase at the end of the day. In the last year, God has delivered me from that place (that I hope to never return to!) I’m in a new place now, where most days look totally normal. I go about life, doing things people do, and probably feel as healthy as you do. BUT, my kidneys didn’t get on board with the whole “I want to be totally healed” plan (yet?). So, slowly but surely, they continue to get a little bit worse.

Ironically, I was reading “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan last night and read this:

“On the average day, we live caught up in ourselves. On the average day, we don’t consider God very much. On the average day, we forget that our life truly is a vapor. But there is nothing normal about today. Just think about everything that must function properly just for you to survive. For example, your kidneys. The only people who really think about their kidneys are people whose kidneys don’t work correctly.”

True statement. I didn’t really know anything about kidneys a little over a year ago, let alone actually think about what my kidneys were doing each day. I also took life for granted, thinking (without actually thinking) that I would live forever. This year, though, I’m thankful I didn’t have that option. The vulnerability of life became real. In a way I’ve never experienced Him before, God became real.

I can’t believe it’s been a year already. A year ago today, I was leaving the hospital (quite joyfully), without a clue of what the rest of the year would hold.  Well, here were some of the things it did include:

- 18 days in the hospital (3 different visits)

- Almost 6,000 pills taken

- 20 doctors appointments with these guys

- At least 5 pounds gained in the face, although thankfully at least 4 of them have been lost by now (I didn’t include a picture of this one for my benefit)

- And somewhere between 75-100 throw-up sessions (I didn’t include a picture of this one for your benefit)

It’s been a crazy year, but God has been faithful. He has brought me from death to life. He has shown me true community, how He created it to be. He has turned our marriage vows from just a promise to a fulfillment of that promise. He has provided strength when I have had none, and peace when it seemed impossible. He has given me the ability to trust him, to be confident in the knowledge that my future is in His hands.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.           1 Peter 1:3

Nica Russell Christmas

This Christmas the entire Russell family came to Nicaragua.

We rented a house on the beach for a few days and (as you can see) it was beautiful.

While we were there, we did a lot of reading and relaxing in hammocks.

We did a lot of eating.

We made s’mores over the barbeque pit.

We completed a puzzle.

We swam – sometimes in the pool and sometimes in the ocean.

And no Russell vacation is complete without at least one game of Settlers.

We played Michael Jackson: The Experience on the wii. Though Joanna killed everyone as far as wii points go, Tess was the clear winner for style.

We played in the sand.

Sometimes we just sat around holding cute babies.

Sometimes we had to guard the stairs to prevent the babies from escaping.

We played frisbee on the beach at sunset.

And took a cute girl picture. (Unfortunately, Tess had the 2011 Russell flu at the time, which almost all of us partook in at some point before, during, or after our time together.)

It was a great week together, even though it definitely didn’t feel like Christmas at all. It felt a little wrong to be sweating on the beach instead of shivering next to a warm fire. It was our first Christmas away from Dallas, and we were really sad to miss out on the annual Russell/Rushing Christmas Eve party. Nevertheless, we were in a beautiful place with people we love, so we really can’t complain.

Staff Retreat 2011

December 12-14 was our annual One by One staff retreat. This year, we went to Montelimar, a hotel on the beach about an hour from our house. Everyone had prepared a presentation specific to their ministry about what their goals and vision were for 2012. This is a great opportunity for us to get on the same page and hear from each other about what the Lord has done over the year and what we all hope to see Him do in the coming year. It is also a great time for the staff to spend time encouraging each other and spending time together outside of a work setting.

This year was a little different from last in that Chase did the presentation for the kids ministry, while I helped Paul with the short-term teams/interns presentation, since I have switched over to that role. We are both excited about these areas of ministry and what the Lord has in store for this year. Pray for us as we put our goals and ideas into action in the coming months.

Costa Rica

Since Chase’s sister Joanna came to Nicaragua in August 2010, we’ve been wanting to take her on a trip to Costa Rica. It finally worked out to go this Thanksgiving break. We took a bus to San Jose, stayed the night, went to visit a family in Cartago that used to go to Wildwood Church in Oklahoma, then took another bus to Manuel Antonio, where we stayed for the following three nights. Chase and I had been to Manuel Antonio once before, when we came to celebrate our 3 year anniversary in April 2010.

We hiked through Manuel Antonio National Park, ate a lot of wonderful food, and did a zipline canopy tour. And no Chase&Julie vacation is complete without enjoying a few hours at the local coffee shop.

The canopy tour consisted of 14 different zip lines across the rainforest. We’ve been wanting to do one of these since we moved to Central America and were finally able to cross it off our list. It was a little scary at first, but the worst parts were walking across some very shaky (but stable) bridges to get from one tall tree to the next. Oh, and our guide’s name was Monkey. Because that is normal, I guess.

Speaking of monkeys, we saw quite a few of them. As we hiked through the rainforest, Joanna snacking on some trail mix, a pack of monkeys took a keen interest in her. Shortly afterward, Joanna and I were attacked by a swarm of black, stinging bugs. Joanna coped by throwing the trail mix on the ground in order to swat them off. Chase, fearing an attack, yelled, “NOOO, the monkeys!!!”, though the monkeys were now nowhere close to us. We all had a good laugh and continued on our way (after retrieving the trail mix of course).

Overall, we had a really great trip and were sad to leave so soon. We love the beauty of the country and the people are extremely friendly and welcoming. If anyone is thinking of taking a tropical vacation soon, we highly recommend Costa Rica, specifically Manuel Antonio. After you come to see us, of course.

A Satisfied Shopper

Well, I’m officially a blog slacker. Oops. We have much to blog about, which I’ll try to catch up on soon. Anyway, we went to Target today to get some groceries and I thought I’d cue you in on the reasoning for some of our purchases. First, a can of pineapple. Man, it’s nice that someone else cut up that pineapple for me. Second, blue bell ice cream. There’s just nothing that compares to it in Nicaragua (or anywhere really!). Third, gouda cheese. This would probably cost $20 in Nicaragua,  but was only about $6 here. Fourth, asparagus. Same reason – 99 cents a pound here compared to $15 there. Fifth, pre-packaged salad. I’ll eat it without bleaching it first or worrying about the consequences if I’m too lazy to do so. And I didn’t have to cut it up, wash it, and spin it dry myself. While Nicaragua probably offers a lot more options than other third-world countries, there’s a remarkable difference between here and there. Groceries are so much more convenient in the U.S.!

Tune in later for updates on life for “The Traveling Russells” over the last couple months!