As I reflect on 2015 and our transition from Malaysia to the USA, there are many things that happened beyond our control. However, many of them were good!
Firstly, watching my children re-enter the US School system and learn to flourish where they are despite of the numerous social challenges in Middle and High School has been a humbling, frustrating, and sometimes uncomfortable season. In a very short semester, I have watched them find their way in a very power hungry group, discover friends, re-invent themselves.
Academically, I have seen them share their talents and achieve musically and scholastically.
Spiritually, I have watched both of them draw closer to God in their sadness, frustration and desperation. And seeing God respond to them intimately is heart-warming.
Physically, they are maturing as young teens and solving more and more complex issues as they learn to make better decisions. Recently, I introduced some financial literacy concepts to them which culminated in playing the Cashflow game together. I have also watched them spend more time thinking about what they really want and researching their options before spending money.
So, there are many things that I still want for my family. But there are so many more that I can only hope for that have been given so richly to us!
Monday, December 28, 2015
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Some Wheels!
One of the things that surprised us during our transition this Summer was buying a car. It became an option when we realized our time in the USA was extending and we would be traveling back to Texas.
Rather than rent a car one way to Texas, and again in Texas to get around locally, we thought about buying a car and selling it if we were to leave the country. We had a modest budget of US$5,000 to spend on the car, and was hoping to get a Chevrolet HHR--a car we knew that fit us well before leaving Texas in 2011.
However, there were few examples in Iowa to look at, so I simply planned on waiting until we got into DFW to shop for one.
But days before leaving Iowa, Monica's brother who works in a car dealership told us a bout a car that just came in on a trade in. The numbers sounded right, but it scared me a bit because it was a lot more car than I was planning to buy--what were the trade offs?
A few days later, we went to his dealership for a look and I was dumb-struck. It was the proverbial cream puff! Few miles for its age, maintained by a former mechanic proactively. In almost mint condition. Because of our connection with my brother-in-law, we were given the car at thousands below market value.
As we drove away and down to Texas, it was obvious that this was a luxurious ride for the money, but it seemed a bit excessive. We did not *need* to have such a large vehicle, but about a month later, we would get to give rides to college kids arriving at Baylor as part of helping them settle in their transition!
Rather than rent a car one way to Texas, and again in Texas to get around locally, we thought about buying a car and selling it if we were to leave the country. We had a modest budget of US$5,000 to spend on the car, and was hoping to get a Chevrolet HHR--a car we knew that fit us well before leaving Texas in 2011.
However, there were few examples in Iowa to look at, so I simply planned on waiting until we got into DFW to shop for one.
But days before leaving Iowa, Monica's brother who works in a car dealership told us a bout a car that just came in on a trade in. The numbers sounded right, but it scared me a bit because it was a lot more car than I was planning to buy--what were the trade offs?
A few days later, we went to his dealership for a look and I was dumb-struck. It was the proverbial cream puff! Few miles for its age, maintained by a former mechanic proactively. In almost mint condition. Because of our connection with my brother-in-law, we were given the car at thousands below market value.
As we drove away and down to Texas, it was obvious that this was a luxurious ride for the money, but it seemed a bit excessive. We did not *need* to have such a large vehicle, but about a month later, we would get to give rides to college kids arriving at Baylor as part of helping them settle in their transition!
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