How do you stay encouraged? That's a huge question and one that's very important. Life overseas can seem overwhelming--living away from family and church family, dealing in a second language, living in a different culture, and the other stresses can add up! In addition to all of those things, there isn't a large Christian community here. You might not think that that's much of a big deal, but there is a certain amount of energy that comes from knowing there are others around you that are your brothers and sisters. There is a certain amount of encouragement that comes from numbers.
I started brainstorming about the answer to the question and found I had enough material for several posts. Then I noticed that I could separate them into three categories: spirit, mind, and body. The separations are not hard breaks; I could make the case for several of them to fall into two categories at the same time.
So what do we do? First, we stay in God's Word. I will admit that I have stayed in the Bible much more consistently on my own in the past eleven years here. I wouldn't have made it if I hadn't! I started reading large chunks at a time. Do you know what I found out? I found out God could and would speak to me--to me, Susan! I didn't need to get things second-hand, but God would speak to me through His Word. His Word has comforted me, challenged me, convicted me, and encouraged me reminding me that He loves me and cares for me.
I read from hard copies and use my cell phone. I have two Bible apps. I use YouVersion when Rusty and I read Psalms and Proverbs in the morning and when we read through the Bible in a year at night. Then I use Open Bibles (with a hamburger icon) for my personal read through the Bible.
We're also a big fan of podcasts. I usually have a long playlist set up on my phone with a variety of different preachers. I have a couple that I just find to be encouraging, I have one that preaches expository sermons, and then there is one who just reminds me of the kind of preaching I grew up hearing. I really enjoy my app Podcast Addict.
Recently I've been listening to more music especially praise and worship. I heard on one of my podcasts that how you start the day sets a tone for the rest of your day. So I decided to start with praise and worship rather than preaching just because it seems to set my spirit in the right direction for the day. Many times we cannot access things overseas easily because of copyright laws, but Amazon Music is one media app that actually works for us. We might not be able to watch movies through Amazon, but I can get my praise and worship on in the morning!
Finally, it seems somewhat shocking to me to have to say this, but we also attend church. You might wonder why this is shocking, but it's simply because there are a lot of missionaries (here, anyway) that do not attend services on the field. They might worship at their homes (which we do as well), but they don't attend any worship services with other believers outside of their family. I have gained a lot of insight, encouragement, and wisdom from being around local believers, and spending time with them has been a needed balance for the all of the time we spend with unbelievers.
In all of these areas I long to improve, but I am thankful that we're both heading in the right direction. That sounded kind of funny since we do attend services every week, but there's always room for improvement. I decided at one point I would be able to concentrate better if I took notes, so I started carrying a notebook. Even though I was there physically sometimes I wasn't really present with my mind easily wandering listening to Thai. I also really like it that Rusty and I are both trying to practice the same disciplines. There is strength when two walk together in agreement.
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