As we adjust between 2 very different countries and cultures, our 2 worlds tend to conflict a bit. The transition and adaptation can be different and shorter as the years go by and I’m learning to trust God in the process. He has called us to this life after all.
What you can expect to be done in an instant in a first world country can take days even weeks here. What we can take for granted there we see it as a great blessing here. Just listen to my kids or look at them when the power goes out in the evening and it’s like our new normal now, no one reacts or cries, “just light the candle”, or “just wait a minute dad will hopefully turn the generator on!” And then when the power comes back and everyone in the house is so excited. And then when the water comes back on after a few days off or when we find something at the store that we have never seen here before and it’s there!
our water tank and our back yard |
What you are so used to have and then it’s not there anymore. When you are used to walking down the street and nobody really cares that you are there and then you remember where you are and every eyes are on you.
Yes the transition is hard. I always have this inner battle in me that refuses to adjust in the first few weeks back or that wants to complain about every little thing that doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to.
Through this inner war, I’m understanding more concretely His promise of peace:
“You [God] will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” Isaiah 6:23
Change is hard. It can be confusing and depleting at times. But through it, I’m learning to depend more and trust more in a God who always stays the same.
Recently, God has been speaking to me through Psalm 139. Here is a portion of it:
“Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast…
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made…"
These last few years have not always been easy, but God has been faithful. He’s guided, protected, and healed.
I’ve personally experienced that God is my never-changing constant.
Please pray for us as a lot is changing here. New teams are being prepared to go. New people are coming and it’s so exciting to see what God will do. Pray for our girls in school and their teachers. I thank God everyday that we have an International Christian School in this city.