Nichols Family in Ecuador

The Perils of Re-Entry

Back in the 60's (for you younger than generation-x people, I mean the 1960's), when space travel was very uncharted water for the human race, each launch was followed by a "re-entry" into Earth's atmosphere in a tiny capsule after it had been to the moon. The same thing happens with the shuttle now, just on a larger scale. You know the drill: Come in too shallow and you will skip off the earth's atmosphere never to be recovered... Come in too direct and the sheer friction of the air burns your tiny barrel into ashes and you inside of it. I won't go into the math involved in that, but it can be a bit complex.

So it is with re-entry into North American culture. Even a year away in another context gives you a bit of a "I have been to another planet, and I am now coming back" feeling. Your legs shake when you get out of the capsule, you feel familiar and confused all at the same time. Just the re-enrollment of our multiple cross-cultural kids into Vickie's "normal" teacher health insurance plans is a challenge. See, for our family, when someone says they need application forms, birth certificates, social security cards, etc., for all our kids, it sounds simple enough, until they find out there are many who are adopted...
"Ohhhhh, well we need the adoption decrees as well." Really? So the russian birth certificate, the english translation pages of the russian birth certificate, the back of the russian birth certificate with all the official stamps, the back of the translated birth certificate with all the official stamps, and then 12 or 14 pages of a russian and english translation of the adoption decree all go on the copier at Kinko's, manually, for each kid separately, I might add. Half of the documents are sewn together with a little thread and a seal, so this makes the people in line behind you there really love you. I sent a massive packet off to Montgomery after doing all this copying and assembling for 9 children. Thankfully the Lord gave grace for them to be accepted and approved! 

Oh, and this copier trip didn't cover the needed copies of tax forms, utility bills and property tax forms for the last two years and the proof of life insurance and car insurance on one of our daughters to prove that she was actually an Alabama tax paying resident for the university's residential requirements paperwork.
Which brings up the IRS...yep. When you need financial aid for college for multiple kids there, you use this system called FAFSA. Well FAFSA always wants data from the IRS. Well, when the IRS gets my tax forms in the summer instead of in April, then FAFSA can't talk to the IRS computer, which means, you guessed it, no student financial aid either! Still praying and working on this little adversity, along with a few others!

Then there is the weird dynamic of being in the grocery store, or the optometry shop, and getting those questions, "Hey, Chris is that you? I thought you were in Ecuador. How long are you home for?" Or, the better one is "Hey, why did ya'll come home, was it just a one year thing?"
Knowing that the whole complex story is one that cannot always be entrusted to everyone, or understood by everyone, where do you begin and end? My usual answer is, "Well, it appears that the Lord has brought us here for now, for the gospel's sake in our complicated cross-cultural family, to focus on some items He has shown us in the last part of the year in Ecuador. We are thankful God gave us clear answers to prayer." This is usually followed by a puzzled silence on their behalf. 

But sometimes, when time allows, and we get to share further, it is yet another opportunity to discuss the messy business of the gospel, and how the light momentary affliction of this time produces heavy glory, glory to the King over us as we submit to His purpose and will.
All praise to His glorious name...


Praise the LORD!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
(Psalm 111:1 ESV)