D squared + J squared = Anderson

It’s Beginning to Look a lot like Winter

Posted on December 28, 2015 by David

The boys haven’t seen snow in five years and have been anxiously awaiting snow. This morning Jonah was bouncing off the walls because he saw snow outside. He couldn’t wait to bundle up and go out. I enjoy how excited they both are about playing in the snow!

There are times when I wonder if we’ve made the right decisions and if we have messed the boys up by our nomadic lifestyle, however, in these moments those thoughts fade because they are excited about the little things and changes that others don’t even think about.

Jonah in snow Snowball fight

Posted in home, Kids | Tagged Home, Kids, Snow | 3 Comments

Merry Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2015 by David

Merry Christmas!!!! We are filled to the brim with blessings! This year we celebrated Christmas with family for the first time since 2008.

It was great being able to attend the Christmas Eve service at our church and the community service I grew up attending late at night – both being candlelight services. My heart is overflowing!

We were secretly hoping for a white Christmas, not because we like cold weather, but because the boys really want to see snow. We got the best compromise – a heavy frost to make things look white, but not dangerous as people are out and about.

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David is so creative and came up with an Amazing Race type challenge for the boys for Christmas presents. It took over an hour and was great! They had ten clues to figure out where their next challenge and clue was hidden. Each challenge was wrapped and once they completed it, they received their next clue. Their challenges were to put a puzzle together, blow a bubble with gum, build and fly a paper airplane, drink a full glass of water, solve mind puzzles and more. It was fun watching them trying to figure out the clues and complete the challenge. Their final clue led them to their Christmas present.

clue reading

found it!

Merry CHRISTmas from our family to yours!

Posted in home, Kids | Tagged Christmas, Home, Kids | 3 Comments

Serving in Our Passport Country

Posted on December 16, 2015 by David

We are gearing up for a big 100 days campaign! The goal is to reach 100% of our financial budget set by Wycliffe within the first 100 days of 2016. It’s a God-sized goal that only He can make happen!

How and what are we going to be doing in the USA as Wycliffe missionaries?

We are preparing to continue serving with Wycliffe here in the USA, in fact, here in Missouri. For both roles, we’ll be working from home since we’ll be working with people from all around the USA and the world.

David will be an IT Recruiter. He will be spending time with IT professionals who have expressed interest in serving with Wycliffe. This is a huge need in Wycliffe for IT roles around the world to be filled as the rate of Bible translation explodes due to technology. For example, one IT professional in the North region of Cameroon would support 17 Bible translation projects. We once heard and fully believe, that computers and the internet were created for Bible translation, God just lets everyone else use them. There are very few people who have worked in a professional IT career, served in an IT role in missions and returned to the USA and want to share this with others in order to encourage others to serve.

DeAnna will be a Launch Coordinator. When someone begins the application process to serve with Wycliffe, she will walk them through the process, which includes ensuring they get the training they need, connect with others about building their partnership team, even get to walk with them during their first term on the field.

Even though we are serving in the USA, our monthly compensation is dependent on individuals like you who want to partner with us in ending Bible poverty so every remaining language and people group can have the Word of God in a language that speaks to the heart of that person and people group.

Posted in home, Wycliffe | Tagged Home, Wycliffe | 4 Comments

The “U” Curve

Posted on December 14, 2015 by David

We’ve been back in the USA for six months – half a year! We were talking the other day about if we were going to be returning to Cameroon, we would be in a mental mode and need to be in preparation mode to return. It takes several months to get all the paperwork, items for three years purchased, bring things here to a close while trying to reopen things there. We are relieved and thankful we don’t need to be in that mode and are looking forward to serving with Wycliffe here in the USA and here in Missouri from home!

As mentioned in the blog referencing The Incredibles, I made a comment about the cultural adjustment curve. We’ve experienced this curve in France and twice in Cameroon, so we are familiar with it and can identify the stages in our lives. We know this phase will pass, which is reassuring since we’ve been there, done that within this curve.

adjustment The Honeymoon Phase is a great, bubbly phase that lasts approximately two to three months and starts upon arrival. We felt like we were in Disneyland when we first arrived back because the electricity is consistently on, the water consistently flows, the water coming from the tap is okay to drink without making one sick with amoeba or cholera, the grocery stores are always packed with millions of items and if you can’t find an item at the store you’re standing in there are ten more stores within ten miles to get the item, it doesn’t take several hours to make dinner, there is air conditioning, the home we live in has shingles and insulation so we don’t here rain loudly pounding on a tin roof, the roads are paved, the list goes on and on.

The Culture Shock Phase is a low point. It’s anxiety and feelings of confusion and disorientation when one must operate within a new cultural environment or social environment. It comes on gradually and grows out of difficulties assimilating and affects one’s mood. It doesn’t last forever, but stinks when in the midst of it. This phase normally hits around the four to six month upon arrival and lasts a few months.

The Acculturation “Adjusting” Phase is the upside to the Culture Shock Phase. This phase usually begins around the seven to nine month mark until about eleven months after arriving. This is where you start to feel like you can handle the differences and make adjustments. It’s not as overwhelming and you feel like you can operate pretty well in this new environment.

The last phase usually hits within the twelve to sixteen month mark after arriving somewhere, it’s called the Adaption Phase. When you feel like you can operate effectively and the anxiety, confusion, disorientation subsides.

Posted in home | Tagged adaption, adjustment, Home | 2 Comments

Incredibles

Posted on December 11, 2015 by David

When the boys were smaller they were fans of the movie The Incredibles. They used to give each person in our family a super power and like to pretend they/we had those powers. In 2006 at a small group Halloween party, we dressed up as The Incredibles.

Anderson Incredibles

When at the Philadelphia airport in 2009 getting ready to board the airplane bound for France – leaving the USA for our first term to serve overseas, we saw this sign.

Incredibles sign

As odd as it may sound, the sign helped spur us on and gave us an extra jolt of excitement about boarding the plane.

We’ve been back in the USA for six months! We’ve hit a place in our adjustment that makes it a bit harder to see positives, however, we know this will pass. (More about this subject in an upcoming blog post) Believe it or not, the silly children’s movie is helping articulate how we are feeling. In the movie after Mr. Incredible saves someone who doesn’t want to be saved, the government decides to have all superheroes just be their hidden identity. Below is what the movie says.

Under tremendous public pressure, and the crushing
financial burden of an ever mounting series of lawsuits, the government quietly
initiated the superhero relocation program. The supers will be granted amnesty
from responsibility for past actions, in exchange for the promise to never
again resume hero work. Where are they now? They are living among us. Average
citizens, average heroes. Quietly and anonymously continuing to make the world
a better place.

I don’t and we don’t at all think or want to communicate in any way that we compare ourselves or think of ourselves as superheroes – we definitely do not! What I’m trying to communicate is that we feel a bit like hidden foreigners in our own passport country. When living cross-culturally one must adjust to some degree in his/her new, host culture. When one returns to his/her passport culture people, things, values, etc… all change, however, for the person who lived outside their passport culture for an extended amount of time, they changed with the other culture, not with their passport culture, so they must adjust, try to find their way in their “home culture” that is now new and familiar at the same time.

Posted in home | Tagged Home, Incredibles, USA | Leave a comment

The Great Encourager

Posted on December 8, 2015 by David

I’ve been involved in a Bible study with a local women’s church group. The study is Breathe by Priscilla Shirer. The study is about making room for sabbath. In the study the participant is suppose to rank areas that can distract or draw us away from observing sabbath. This isn’t sabbath how it’s normally looked at as going to church on Sunday; it’s intentionally stopping/ceasing something to reflect on who the Lord is, what He is doing in my life, in that moment, in that day and what He has done in my life, in my week, in that minute. When staring at the categories that could be selected as potential areas that could distract, I could honestly look at them and not check them. It’s not because I have it all together, it’s because of the work the Lord has done in my life and the path He has led me down the past seven years. I knew and know I have areas, they just aren’t in those categories, so I started exploring the areas that I have a difficult time resisting the urge to continue……and I came up with two. I have a difficult time resisting the urge to worry and stress about our finances. I have a difficult time resisting the urge to just be because I’m concerned others will view me as lazy. I’ve been working on these areas to continually hand them over to the Lord. To trust Him to take care of us financially, as He has the past seven years. To trust Him to keep my eyes focused on Him and to not be concerned with others potential thoughts about me. I’ve been on this journey for about a month.

As stated in our previous newsletter, we are gearing up for a 100 days campaign. The goal is to be at 100% of the budget set by Wycliffe within the first 100 days of 2016. This campaign is to meet with others and ask for either increased partnership, recommitted partnership, becoming a partner for the first time or becoming a regular partner. This is a God-sized goal! We have asked others to commit to bathe this campaign and us in this specific time in prayer. We started a committed prayer time for the month of December to help us know who God wants us to talk with one on one. We have lists of people’s names and have been praying for them. I have to admit this has been a difficult process for me with up and down bouts of discouragement and attacks from the enemy.

Well the Lord gave us a huge shot in the arm, spurred us on and has encouraged us greatly and I want to shout it from the rooftop. During the month of November we received additional financial gifts sent into Wycliffe on our behalf that allowed us to experience what a 100% month is for the first time in five months. Plus the Lord has prompted two people who were identified on our list as people we would like to talk with, to come to us. Wow!!! He’s blown my socks off! Merci Seigneur!

This encourages us and excites us as we are gearing up to meet with others so all our months can be 100%.

Posted in home, Wycliffe | Tagged Finances, Home, sabbath, Wycliffe | 2 Comments

Through a Child’s Eye

Posted on December 7, 2015 by David

In some ways after years of living outside our passport country, returning is a bit like seeing it for the first time through a child’s eye. David and I have always enjoyed Christmas lights and displays. He was on a trajectory at one time to becoming Clark Griswold in Christmas Vacation.

We wanted to drive through the Longview Christmas in the Park because it’s something we used to do as a family when the boys were little and we like to see the lights.

The boys were oohing and aahing all through the light display. It was so neat and heart warming to hear their comments and excitement from seeing the lights. They both asked when we can drive through it again.

palm trees wreath display playing horn horn

Posted in home, Kids | Tagged Christmas, Home, Kids | 2 Comments

Ornament Traditions

Posted on December 4, 2015 by David

David grew up making homemade ornaments for the family Christmas tree. When he was in the US Air Force, he wanted to decorate his dorm room and wanted homemade ornaments to decorate his Christmas tree. I made ornaments for him and the two of us were painting the ornaments when he asked me to make ornaments with him for the rest of my life. Our engagement anniversary is Saturday, so I wanted to post this close to that date.

Making ornaments has been our own family tradition. We took a small portion of them with us to France and then onto Cameroon. Unfortunately we found out the hard way that our homemade clay doesn’t hold up in a tropical environment. I was so sad when we had to throw away all our homemade clay ornaments we took, the ones we made in France and the ones we made our first year in Cameroon. The tropical, humid environment made them soggy and mold. I had to be creative when choosing homemade ornaments to make from that Christmas forward in Cameroon – I chose wood and foam. We write or paint the year on the back of each ornament.

This year we can make homemade clay ornaments again!

Davids childhood

This was one of David’s ornaments from childhood.

DeAnna

This was given to DeAnna from her Sunday School teacher’s in 1981.

2000 ornament 2004 ornament Joshua 2006 Jonah 2007 made in Cameroon

2015 ornament

Posted in home, Kids | Tagged Christmas, Home, ornaments | 4 Comments

It’s Beginning to look like Christmas

Posted on November 30, 2015 by David

We haven’t been with family for Christmas since 2008. We are looking forward to celebrating with family this year.

We decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. It was nostalgic going through ornaments that we left in the USA and haven’t seen since 2008. Some brought tears of joy, while others brought tears of memories of loved ones who have passed away.

For David and I, the cold weather, seeing the ornaments of Christmases past and listening to Christmas music on the radio made it feel like Christmas, however, the opposite for the boys. The boys can only remember hot, humid weather while decorating for Christmas. They were missing shorts, bare feet and plans to go to the swimming pool for the upcoming Christmas break because that’s what we did in Cameroon.

Christmas tree outside lights Nativity Set from Cameroon Traditional Hanging