communication

Communication these days is amazing, but can also be a bit overwhelming.  I am so grateful to be living overseas during a time when I can call up my mama via Skype and see her sweet face while we chat about life and can keep up to date with friends via Facebook and Instagram.

Part of what we are called to is connecting with supporters and the church back home.  And there are SO. MANY. WAYS. to connect these days.  Which, again, is great but it can at times be a challenge for us to know where to put most of our communication energy.  Some of you will never open a newsletter that we send.  Other supporters have no idea what Instagram is and others think that Facebook is only used by old people.  All that to say, we are trying to tell the story of our family and what God is doing in Ecuador in a variety of ways.  We write different stuff here on the blog than in our newsletter.  So, let me know if you want your email address put on our newsletter list!

Another thing we are trying out is little recaps of our weeks on my Instagram account.  They don’t cover everything. Sometimes highlights from ministry, sometimes updates on our family, sometimes new adventures that we have had.  Just bits and pieces of our weeks here that will hopefully fill in some of the gaps of life that don’t get covered in newsletters and blog posts.

So, if you want to follow along, find me : jenniferahoskins

And Chris also posts from time to time : chistohoskins

And I will try to remember to post these little weekly updates here on our blog as well.

Let us know if there are things you want to know about our life or if you have ideas about how we can better connect.  The thing about communication is, it is always much better when it is a two way street!

week 1 :: reconnecting with dear friends, house hunting, soccer games, written thank yous, trip to Cayambe to visit the Santiago Partnership, school evaluations, and homemade lemonade from the backyard.

week 2 :: visa registration, welcome back BBQ, paperwork, signed a lease, paperwork, pricing out furniture and appliances, hard parenting moments and more exploration of our beautiful new country.

week 3 :: appliances purchased, starting to unpack, road trip to Ibarra to visit friends and worship, so close to a car purchase, first visit from friends in the US and a heart heavy for all the continuing violence there.

week 4 :: spanish classes, more paperwork, car purchased, first night in our house, dining room table delivered, meeting with seminary rector, lots of ice cream and conversations about poverty and privilege.

week 5 :: wedding of dear friends, car registration, unpacking, reunited with Mergies, baby girl with a fever, endless errands, my first time driving in Ecuador, Chris’ ordination paper and beauty in everyday moments.

week 6 :: first house guests, boy with a fever, so many house repairs which has led to many hours with the sweet couple we are renting from which led to learning to make chicharron in our back oven, adventures in cold showers and exploring our neighborhood.