Catching up with the Pratts

Before I go on about the life we are living in 2018, I think it's good to get caught up with our family, so here it is, a brief recap of our different year, our year of change 2017.

2017 started off as normal, bringing in the New Year with our church families.  We then survived a cool and foggy January.The next couple months went by in a blur, while we planned an Annual Bible Conference, worked hard to finish up the school year, and got Alyssa ready to move overseas.
Yes, that's the biggest change we faced last year, and we are still to this day adjusting to it.
As probably most of you know, we spend the majority of our time on the mission field.  The last time the whole family traveled to the US was in 2013. In 2017, Alyssa finished 12th grade. So, we decided to do things differently for her sake this time.  In April, the three older girls and I flew to the US, and the rest of the family followed us in May.

Graduation in Pensacola

Contrary to what we have done in the past, this time the kids and I stayed in Maine with family for the majority of the time we spent in the US.  This was a deliberate decision that was needed for our family.

4th of July with family

Alyssa and Naomi got a job for the summer, and learned about living in the US and adjusting to the different mindset and customs of Americans.  You read that right. Most of their years growing up were spent in India, a place with a vastly different culture and mindset from the US.  India is what they know and where they feel comfortable, they consider it their home. So the summer months were ones of adjustment and learning, and also of rest.  It was a time where we could connect with family and really know each other.  We spent a lot of time relaxing, having bonfires, driving back roads, eating junk, and harassing each other (you gotta know my family!)

A day at the fair

It was an amazing time of memories.

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The end of August we drove south to get Alyssa settled at college in Florida.  It was the time we'd been looking forward to, and dreading!  To say it was hard, doesn't even touch the emotions involved in leaving her, knowing that in a few short weeks there would be an ocean between us.  I feel that a lot of these sentences could have a blog post all their own, but for now, here it is. And for those of you who are wondering, No, there are no pictures of the goodbyes. No photo evidence needed of that heartbreak. Moving on...

In October we returned home to India, a happy and sad group, that was adjusting to one less member.  I can't tell you how many times I recounted passports.....six...only six...where's the....oh right.

And life doesn't slow down.  Naomi and  Melody suffered with dengue fever and Brian suffered with pneumonia. In between we traveled to the far corner of India on a ministry trip for two weeks, and lived the crazy, never dull days that make up our life here.

And Alyssa, she's faced her ups and downs, but has learned to love her life in college.  Nothing about it has been especially easy, but she's doing an amazing job of thriving in her new life.

That was our 2017, a long, blessed, difficult year.

Always a stranger

I moved with my family to a new country, and did everything I could to settle there.  I learned to live, shop, get around the city, make new foods, and eat new foods. I learned to get along with the neighbors and even began learning the language.  So I didn't understand why, even years later, sometimes I still felt strange, I still felt uncomfortable, I still felt out of place, I still felt insecure.
Then I came across a verse that changed everything for me. 
Exodus 23:9  Also, thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
The Israelites had been in Egypt for over 400 years. The people that Moses was talking to at this time were not the first ones to enter Egypt as strangers. They had been born in Egypt, and lived there their whole lives. Yet still, they were considered strangers.  They had the heart of a stranger, even when the land was no longer as strange, even when it was comfortable, they were still strangers. Their background, their lifestyle, their religious practices, their family structure was fundamentally different from the people of the land they were living in. They were living in a place where they would always be seen as strangers.

And as I sat there thinking about this verse and thinking about the children of Israel who were still considered strangers after 400 years, I had a breakthrough that changed me.  I was that stranger. I had that heart.  It was ok to be me. It was ok to be ME. See, I had always had a feeling deep inside that there was something wrong with me, because I always felt a little out of place, always felt a little lonely, always felt a little uncomfortable and insecure. I wondered if I really could ever belong here.  I wondered if I was doing it wrong and should just give up.  It was my heart. The heart of a stranger, and it is just as it should be. It was ok to feel uncomfortable and strange in a place that's so different from my own. It didn't mean that I wasn't doing well, wasn't doing enough, wasn't adjusting, or wasn't where I should be.  I have the heart of a stranger. The heart given to me by the One who took me from the place that was familiar, to this strange land, because there was something He wanted me to do, and ways He wanted me to change.  It's not about being comfortable and secure in the place, but I can be secure in the One who called me, because He called me here, knowing I'd always have within me, the heart of a stranger.
And I know that there are many who feel like giving up their strange land, many who feel they are ineffective or unnecessary.  There are many who have given up, because it it uncomfortable and insecure, but it's supposed to be!  God knows exactly where you've come from and how different it is from where you are.  The backwoods of Maine is nothing even remotely like the fields of Punjab, but here I am, and there you are, and if we can just embrace the heart He has given us, the heart of a stranger, we can endure, we can survive, we can thrive, right here in our strange land, and maybe, just maybe, if we endure, it can somehow become home too.

15 lessons from a 15 year veteran

15 years!  I can't believe it.  When we left the US to stay here for the first time...I wondered if I could last 15 days!  15 months sounded like a stretch....15 years...eternity........We had no idea, when we said goodbye and boarded that plane in Philadelphia August 2001, what our life would become.  We had no idea of the trials and triumphs that awaited us.  We had no idea if we'd survive long enough to be considered veteran missionaries, but we knew one thing for certain...nothing would ever be the same.  And in that, we were totally right, and the biggest change would be within ourselves.  So many thoughts are running through my mind as I think about this milestone, so many events, so many faces, so many days, so many nights...That young couple with a toddler and baby, with tears in their eyes in Philadelphia (ok I admit I was sobbing)  have become this couple with 5 children who can't imagine what their life would have been, if they'd never boarded that plane.  I can't find an adequate way to sum it up, so I'll just attempt by giving 15 lessons that I've learned living this strangers life.

1.  A strange place can become home.  When I first arrived here, I didn't believe I could ever feel "at home".  When I heard people say that about their field, I thought they were a lot better than me..or they were lying.  And, admittedly, it took years (yes,years!) and I didn't think it would happen to me.  But somehow I can now say, I feel at home in this place.
2.  Things that once made you stare, seem normal.  A family of 5 riding a motorcycle, oh well...10 or 12 policemen blocking the road..what now? It wasn't us, let us pass so we're not late to our meeting...and we'd rather not pay for the privilege either!
3.  You will be misunderstood.  By those in your new country, by those in your home country, by old friends, by family..by those you thought would always "get you". Because you've lived and experienced things that have changed your mindset, your manners, and your the whole structure of your life.
4.  You'll make mistakes and still survive to make more.  Mistakes in language, culture, saying too much, or not enough, giving up when you should have pressed on,  judging harshly, getting a chip on your shoulder, attitude, anger........should I go on? You're human, never forget that. And also don't forget that we serve the God of all grace.
5.  God's will is always right, but it's not always easy.  You'll want to quit, don't. You'll want to cry, go ahead. Just keep moving forward in the path God has laid out for you.  Not all of us get to cruise down the interstate at 75 mph..some of us hit the potholes and frost heaves (Maine girl speaking).
6.  You can't live up to anyone's expectations.  Not your husbands, not your church's, not your family's, not supporting pastors, not coworkers, not your own. Stop trying, it'll make you crazy.  But thankfully, God has not set out a list of expectations, He has called us to be faithful.  Let's be that.
7.  It won't be what you imagined it to be.  If you imagine it to be a paradise where you fall in love with every aspect of the country and culture and sinners are begging you to share the Gospel, it won't be that..if you imagine it to be a life sentence of extreme living conditions and daily heart break, it won't be that either.  It'll be both and sometimes in the middle.  It'll be life.
8.  Homesickness hurts. A lot. Still now sometimes.  But it gets easier, bearable, and home is always there as a beacon, the promise that there's still normal life in this crazy world somewhere.
9.  You can still be you.  Your sarcasm may not be as much appreciated but...hey...life goes on.  You will change, but the shy, kinda quiet, quirky, fun loving, sarcastic person you once were, can still live on.
10.  You don't have to forget your country.  We were once told, unwisely in my opinion, by a missionary no less, that we should forget America when we moved abroad.  That bothered me, it bothered me for a long time.  Because I couldn't forget, and I didn't want to.  And I learned that it wasn't necessary.  We met Indians in the US who were still very attached to their country and culture, and no one here expected us to become un-American.  It's possible to love you country and culture, without hating another.  Just be careful of the comparison game...in America we...because it can fuel discontent.
11.  There will be highs and lows.  Don't let the highs spoil you, and don't let the lows discourage you.  There have been times when we've seen so much fruit, and God working in a unique way, and other times that we've wondered why we were here at all.    Hold on, just hold on.
12.  There's a job to be done, and no matter how inadequate we may feel, this is what we've been chosen for.  Don't trust in your feelings, trust in the God who has chosen you.
13.  There will be those that help you in ways you could never imagine, and those who will hurt you far deeper than you could ever imagine.  When you minister you give your heart and labor to people, people who may fail you, and for reasons unknown, people who may someday turn on you.  You'll learn the meaning of forgiveness, even forgiving those who are not sorry, and will blame you for their betrayal.  "...as Christ forgave you." And it's not easy.
14.  There's no life like it.  You are privileged to have this opportunity that is not given to everyone.
15.  You are blessed always, by the God who stands with you, and carries you on the good days, and on the hardest days of your life, because you will face both.

Last first day

During the month of July I was working feverishly confirming enrollments, checking graduation requirements, and ordering curriculum.  Our school year usually runs from July or August till March or April.  Sometimes we get a late start because of a delay getting our materials from the US.  This year we got started on August 1st.  A few days before the first day, Alyssa made one of those simple statements that ends up hitting you like a ton of bricks.  "This will be my last "first day".  I hadn't been thinking of it in those terms, maybe I was in one of those denial modes, but I realized she was right.  This is 12th grade, a Senior, the last "first day".  Of course there will be other first days, but this one is significant.  This will be the last "first day" studying at home.  The last "first day" that they all are in school together.  I have taught her at home since the first day when I, in my eagerness, started Alyssa in kindergarten at 4.  It's not always been easy.  There have been days when I wanted to quit, and days when they wanted to quit!  But I wouldn't trade it.  Anytime when we threw around the idea of enrolling the kids in a school for a year or two, I was the one who dug in my heels.  I didn't want to give up this unique opportunity. Not everyone is blessed with the chance to be able to do what I do.  Recently, Alyssa wrote her name on my hand, and said "There, now when I become famous, you can tell everyone you were the first to get my autograph".  I told her, "Nope, when you become famous, I'm going to tell everyone that I taught you to write"!
I know this year will be bittersweet in many ways.  There are big changes coming for our family.  Lord willing, after this school year, we will take Alyssa to the US and she will enroll in college there. That's a scary sentence to write, for a mother.  For all those of you sending your kids to college this year, imagine if you had to leave them there, knowing you'd fly back overseas soon.  Pray for our family as there are a lot of decisions and arrangements that have to be made in the near future.  For now, we enjoyed our last "first day" together, eating waffles with cherries and whipped cream for breakfast, and working through all the bugs of the first day.

Alyssa - 12th grade

Naomi - 11th grade

Alyssa always tells me, "I know you'll cry Mom..but don't start yet!" So, I'll try not to (much), and I'll try to enjoy every day, the way it should be enjoyed, the last few months of this season, before a new season starts for us.
And here are my students for the 2016-2017 school year

Kara - 2nd grade

Melody - 9th grade

Ethan - 7th grade

Encouragement on one of those days

Have you ever had one of those days?  When you just didn't feel like it?  You look back over the days of visits, classes, meetings, Bible studies and wonder if you've had any impact at all?  Is it worth it if you don't see many results? 

There was a day like that here recently.  It had rained...poured all morning.  The place we should go for visiting would be muddy, smelly, the drains and gutters would be overflowing.  The week before, we had gone and didn't find many people home, the kids we did find just kept running around and had no interest to sing any songs or listen to any Bible.  The other people who should have gone visiting with us were nowhere to be found, so we'd have to do all the houses, just me and the kids.

We got there and slogged through a little mud, across a couple gutters, and there was a group of 7 or 8 ladies and girls standing in front of one doorway.  They saw us coming and greeted us like long lost friends.  We stood there in the mud for 20 minutes or more, while they reminisced.  Some of these ladies we've known for years, some still come occasionally to church or send their kids, some not at all now. But they were remembering the days, when I only had 4 kids (over 7 years ago).  When we used to come every week to tell stories and sing songs with the kids that lived there at the time.  Sometimes there would be 30 or 40 or more.  They remembered us showing a Gospel film there in the night, one that showed the simple plan of salvation for those who cannot read or write, and have no knowledge of the Gospel.  They remembered me teaching them from the Bible in Sunday School.  They remembered it fondly, laughing and smiling.  One mother said to me, I'd never keep my kids from going to church.  That may not sound like a powerful statement, but in this place, it is.  We've seen many kids who have trusted Christ, but have to leave our church, with tears, because their parents won't allow them to attend.  This mother, still practicing the Hindu religion, has a positive view of the church, of Christians. That's not to be taken lightly in a place like this, where religious tensions often flare.

  We walked a little farther through the mud, past the goats, to a small room, where a lady had just delivered a new baby a few days before.  As we stood there admiring the tiny boy, she asked my daughter, what they should name him.  My daughter said, you should name him what you like.  Their answer was, you are his older sister, so you have the right to give a name too.  This statement showed the great level of respect and love that they had for her.   Many of these people have not trusted Christ, but I realized that day, somehow there's been an impact.  I don't mean to exalt ourselves or what we have done, but it's easy to forget the promises of God, in the struggle of daily ministry.  The promise that His Word will not return void.  The promise that He abideth faithful.  The command to be a light and show the love of Christ.  Maybe you won't see the results that you hoped for, maybe days and years will go by without visible change, but maybe...just maybe one evening standing in the muddy, trash filled street, with coal smoke swirling around you..God will send some encouragement..a glimpse of that impact..so you can take courage...continue to endure...continue to be faithful..and let the results stay in His hand..where they've been all along. 

Family pictures 2016

Pratt family 2016

We've had a lot of requests recently for an updated family picture, so I thought it must be a good time to send a few recent photos.

                        Yes...they are growing up!

Naomi -15    Alyssa - 16

Ethan - 11          Melody - 12

Kara - 6

Visited a centuries old castle recently...our India in an ancient land...

Everywhere we go...people have to do a head count...1...2...3..4...yes there really are 5....

And....they all 5 can be a little crazy...:-)

My Health

I know a lot of people have read some updates on my health from my husband's Facebook posts, but due to the number of comments and private messages that we have both received and been unable to keep up with answering (sorry!)...I decided to write a post to explain what has been going on so far.

It all basically started a couple weeks ago, when I was on the way to the park with the kids.  We were cycling and Kara was riding behind me.  Part of the way she got down so we could walk up an incline into a parking lot.  When we reached the parking lot, I suddenly got lightheaded and basically passed out.  This had never happened to me before.  (I was thankful that it happened in that empty parking lot, 2 minutes later we would have been crossing a busy intersection)
I went to the doctor the next day, and found out that my blood count was 5.5.  That is considered critically low.  The doctor asked me if I wanted to be admitted to the hospital for a blood transfusion.  Ok..you are asking me..so the answer is obviously...NO!  She said, if you feel OK, you can monitor it at home.  That sounded good to me...at the time.....
So, I was home for a few days, but was at the point that I barely had energy to get out of bed at all. (My husband meanwhile was increasingly worried at this development!) On Friday I forced myself to do a little grading, and was helping the kids with some schoolwork, when I felt my heart racing.  Brian was here then, so he took me straight to the doctor.  Since I was getting worse instead of better she admitted me to the hospital for a blood transfusion. (She didn't ask me for my opinion this time! HA!)   Over the next 24 hours I received 2 units of blood...I will spare the gory details, but it was a difficult time.
I can't say that I felt any better at all after receiving the transfusion, but my blood count was over 8, so I was discharged on Saturday night.  We thought I was out of the woods, but unfortunately....during the night I started running a fever.  When I was discharged, they told us very clearly to come to the Emergency if I got chills or a fever...so early Sunday morning..it was back to the hospital again!  I was given an IV and was under observation for an hour or so, and had some blood drawn, then sent home.  I continued running a fever for the next 2 days, and we (the doctor too) were not sure if I had received contaminated blood, if I was having a reaction to the blood, or if I just caught something while in the hospital due to my weakened immune system.  My blood was tested for a long list of infections and scary diseases...and thankfully they all came back negative.  The fever subsided after 2 days, and yesterday, for the first time, I actually felt a little better!
I saw the doctor again today to show her a new blood report.  She says everything looks like it's coming back to the normal range, but it will take time.  She told me that I need to rest and recover from this, and she wants to see me after a month, unless there seems to be any other problems.
This has been a scary and harrowing experience for our family to say the least.  We received countless messages, calls and emails to say that people were praying all over the world!  It is hard to express what a blessing and encouragement that has been.  Please continue to pray that I'll get stronger and be able to get the needed rest.  After I am stable again, I may have some more tests to see why my blood got that low in the first place....but that is a story for another day!:-)
I saw the doctor again today