I recently looked back on my past blog postings... I used to blog every now and then about what the Lord was teaching me at the time, and just updates from my time in South Asia. Writing has always been a sense of relief for me, even though I am not an avid writer. So after reading my past blogs, I decided it was time for a new one, so bare with me.
They say that coming home after doing long-term mission work can be pretty difficult. You struggle with reverse culture shock, and to be honest, sometimes coming back into America can be a lot harder than adjusting to a third world country. Bangladesh was extremely hard to get used to. Our culture and their culture are complete opposites. The food, the clothes, transportation...EVERYTHING! But after awhile you just get used to it, it all becomes kinda normal, at least for me it did. I grew to love Bangladesh. I loved the warm hospitality of the women, always welcoming me into their homes for hot tea and sweet treats. I loved how simple life was, and let's be honest, I especially loved how cheap most things were. I wasn't distracted by instagram or any other sort of social media. I didn't have to worry about how I looked, cause who was there to impress? However, coming back home was a little harder. I eventually started to adjust to the new "norms", but as I continued to adjust back to "home", it really didn't feel like home. Everything reminded me of Bangladesh. I am sure my family and friends were sick of hearing stories and comparisons of "here" and "there".
What most people struggle with when returning back to America is the feeling that people just don't care. They ask you "oh how was your trip"?, but most of the time their attention span lasts for 2 minutes. You have so much to say, so many stories, so many memories... how do you say it all in 2 minutes? A lot of the time people will just shut down. It's hard to relate to American culture when others just don't understand where you came from; and honestly, how can they? But while yes, it was hard for me to adjust, and I did interact with some people who just wanted to hear, "my trip was good", and move on, my culture shock was better than I anticipated, and I blame that on my church. After returning home, I felt so loved by my church body. I am so blessed to have the church family that I do, and I want to personally thank you. You made my homecoming better than I could have ever planned it. You showed me that you cared about my time in Bangladesh, you were eager to listen to my stories, my victories, and my defeats from my time there. You were patient with me when I was just having "one of those days". You took me out to dinner just to hear me talk for an hour about my time there; I am so grateful for that.
Since being home, I have longed to be back there. I have so desperately wanted to hug my friends that I left behind. I have been praying about going back, and that the Lord would send me when the time is right... Well, I am so excited to say that God has given me the opportunity to go back this summer! I want to cry happy tears just thinking about it. I am eager to see everyone, and to do the same ministries that I did when I was there. I can't wait to do follow up in the villages and the slums, and to see women and children who I thought I might not ever see again. God is SO good and so faithful. He knows the desires of our hearts, and He wants to fulfill them because He put them there. I am excited to update you all while I am there, by sharing pictures and stories. One thing I want to ask of you is that you would pray for me and my time there. Pray that God would begin to move in the hearts of those I will soon encounter. When you prayed for me faithfully last year, I felt it. I want to thank you again for covering me in prayer.
I look forward to updating you all on this next adventure!
...To God be the glory!
They say that coming home after doing long-term mission work can be pretty difficult. You struggle with reverse culture shock, and to be honest, sometimes coming back into America can be a lot harder than adjusting to a third world country. Bangladesh was extremely hard to get used to. Our culture and their culture are complete opposites. The food, the clothes, transportation...EVERYTHING! But after awhile you just get used to it, it all becomes kinda normal, at least for me it did. I grew to love Bangladesh. I loved the warm hospitality of the women, always welcoming me into their homes for hot tea and sweet treats. I loved how simple life was, and let's be honest, I especially loved how cheap most things were. I wasn't distracted by instagram or any other sort of social media. I didn't have to worry about how I looked, cause who was there to impress? However, coming back home was a little harder. I eventually started to adjust to the new "norms", but as I continued to adjust back to "home", it really didn't feel like home. Everything reminded me of Bangladesh. I am sure my family and friends were sick of hearing stories and comparisons of "here" and "there".
What most people struggle with when returning back to America is the feeling that people just don't care. They ask you "oh how was your trip"?, but most of the time their attention span lasts for 2 minutes. You have so much to say, so many stories, so many memories... how do you say it all in 2 minutes? A lot of the time people will just shut down. It's hard to relate to American culture when others just don't understand where you came from; and honestly, how can they? But while yes, it was hard for me to adjust, and I did interact with some people who just wanted to hear, "my trip was good", and move on, my culture shock was better than I anticipated, and I blame that on my church. After returning home, I felt so loved by my church body. I am so blessed to have the church family that I do, and I want to personally thank you. You made my homecoming better than I could have ever planned it. You showed me that you cared about my time in Bangladesh, you were eager to listen to my stories, my victories, and my defeats from my time there. You were patient with me when I was just having "one of those days". You took me out to dinner just to hear me talk for an hour about my time there; I am so grateful for that.
Since being home, I have longed to be back there. I have so desperately wanted to hug my friends that I left behind. I have been praying about going back, and that the Lord would send me when the time is right... Well, I am so excited to say that God has given me the opportunity to go back this summer! I want to cry happy tears just thinking about it. I am eager to see everyone, and to do the same ministries that I did when I was there. I can't wait to do follow up in the villages and the slums, and to see women and children who I thought I might not ever see again. God is SO good and so faithful. He knows the desires of our hearts, and He wants to fulfill them because He put them there. I am excited to update you all while I am there, by sharing pictures and stories. One thing I want to ask of you is that you would pray for me and my time there. Pray that God would begin to move in the hearts of those I will soon encounter. When you prayed for me faithfully last year, I felt it. I want to thank you again for covering me in prayer.
I look forward to updating you all on this next adventure!
...To God be the glory!
