Doug and Julie Effinger in Nicaragua

Probably the most challenging and rewarding part of the past summer concerned our mom. We decided to bring her back home to Vancouver from Alabama, where she was living with her companion and his family. It was a decision we had hoped to avoid but in the end became an easy decision for my brother and I. The reason: mom's dementia/Alzheimers had gotten to the point that neither her companion nor his family was able to provide her adequate care. When they began discussing placing her in a care facility in in Alabama, we took the initiative to bring her home where she would be near family. She still recognizes her children and grandchildren. At the Atlanta airport bring mom home. We brought mom back shortly after 4th of July. The trip back was uneventful (she was well sedated). We were able to find a nice care home with limited number of residents where she is placed. She seems to enjoy it there. Throughout the summer I tried to visit 2-3 times a week. Once she got settled in w...

We made it back to Nicaragua after 4 months in the the states, mostly in our Vancouver home with our daughter's family. This was the longest extended stay in States since moving to Nicaragua in 2002. Blame the grand kids. Blame conferences. Blame family issues. Doesn't matter,  it was one of the best summers we have had in years. PDX famous carpet. I'm going to break our debrief up into a few different stories to avoid a long post. Suffice it to say, this was a busy summer. I attended two conferences related to our mission activities. We moved my mom, who has dementia, back to Vancouver, where we (her children) can visit her and assist her when needed. We provided daycare to our grandson throughout his summer vacation, which proves to be more enjoyable year after year. Waiting in the Houston's Goerge Bush airport has become a semi annual routine for us. Summer trips home also provide opportunities to go camping, visit other family members, reconnect wit...