Going Home
I can’t believe how time has flown since I came back to America. My six weeks are all over on Tuesday, and so I have been in a flurry of activity trying to get ready to go home. My stay has been unbelievably wonderful!I came back, sick, tired and totally spent. But six weeks later, I feel almost like a new person. I have been able to eat every kind of yummy food imaginable, gained a lot of weight, and rested a lot. I also got to visit with a lot of my friends, spent two wonderful weeks with my family, and also got in a few days of good hard work. What more could I ask for? (OK, if the rest of my family were with me it would be even better!)I did not expect to have quite so much reverse culture shock, but it hit me pretty hard. The first week or so, the boys had a hard time dragging me down off of my mountain. I would have been perfectly content to just sit up here and look at the view… But, I did come down off my mountain. Since most of you live here in America, you probably don’t know this, but American’s are insanely rich and increased with goods of every description! I guess I had not realized that before. It really shook me up, especially at first…now I am getting used to the luxury. I could not help but compare our villages with the poorest of America, and I find that there is no comparison. I wonder how God views things? He has to look at the extreme poverty of the heathen while at the same time looking at the opulence of the rich. I know that riches are a blessing, but we sure need to have a lot more compassion on the poor of this world, and help them whenever we can. I am so thankful that God has put me where he has, amidst the poorest of this earth so that I can be a help and blessing to them. I spent most of my life being one of the rich, so I really can’t complain about a bit of hardship now.
The incredible thing to me is how much love and generosity has been poured out on me while traveling around the country. People spent days taking me from thrift store to thrift store, making sure that I got everything on my list. Others gave me piles of beautiful clothing for the girls, along with books and toys. I was treated to the best food America has to offer, (my Dad’s cinnamon rolls are out of this world…I took pictures of them for Roy and the kids!) I had warm cozy beds to sleep in, campfires, hot showers, and so much good company that I can hardly take it all in. I wish that I had gotten to see all of the important people in my life…if only they all lived closer together! While I was jumping up and down on the suitcase, trying to get everything to fit, I had to stop and compare today with when I left the first time.When I left home three years ago, I had no idea of what to expect. I thought of the mission field as being warm and rather exotic and exciting. Today I have a totally different picture. I know that I will get sick, tired and lonely. I know all about the bugs, snakes, heat and exhaustion. I know that I will eat rice and vegetables for every meal, every day. I know that there will be people who try to take advantage of us, lie to us, and steal from us. I know that I will not understand anything at church, but have to sit there on the hard floor for 3 hours anyway. Why do I do it?It is because of my little girls who need me so much. It is because of sick people dying because they have no one who cares about them. It is because of villagers who never heard of Jesus and what he did for them. It is because there are eager students who want to learn what I can teach them. It is because Jesus left his comfortable home in heaven and came to this dark earth to rescue me from a life of sin. Can I do any less than to give my life for those who don’t know yet?