We did it. We recently reached the one-year mark of living in a foreign country. On May 21, 2012, our family stepped off a plane in Santo Domingo and pulled suitcases, strollers, backpacks, and babies past a sea of Dominican faces to make this tiny island our new home.

How do we describe this last year?

Full.

A year full of new experiences and new relationships.
A year full of power outages, good Dominican food, and lots of Spanish.
A year full of family changes – Noah started to talk and Leyton learned to walk.
A year full of muggy weather, mosquito bites, and various car problems.
A year full of days where we couldn’t wait for our heads to hit the pillow.
A year full of death and new life.
A year full of feeling lonely, inadequate, and frustrated.
A year full of painful growth.
A year full of “a-ha” moments that helped us continue another day.
A year full of learning that faith in God requires more than just lip service.
A year full of God’s faithfulness and goodness.

You know, this past year has been the longest and hardest one we’ve endured as a family. And next year is certain to bring even more challenges. When we’re in the midst of the difficulties, it’s so easy to lose perspective. It’s so easy to focus on the pain. But in the middle of the trouble – that’s when trusting the faithful One is so important.

So here we are, one year later – still learning to live by faith and not by sight.

Our desire is to give all the glory and honor that is due our Savior. He is so worthy!

“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…”
Hebrews 12:2