Missionary Life - 10 Days In

Wow. We've been here ten days. That sounds like so few, and kinda feels like so many.

It's funny how relatively settled we feel, yet how completely disoriented we are at the same time. I mean, we know how to drive everywhere we need to drive to. (And by 'we', I mean Mark.) We've figured out how to shop, cook, do laundry, shower, and check email. (You know - the important things...)

It's the little things
- like having a Coke with Jesus -
that make this transition easier.

But, even while we're doing all those things, we're also usually mostly mystified and confused.

Like how I'm just a wee bit terrified every time I have to face down the suicide shower head.

And how I end up just fumbling with bills and coins and gesturing hopefully when I go to the market.

Or how we've been to McDonalds so many times that one of the guys who works there brought our capuccino and commented with a smile that we were at our 'reserved table.' <sigh>

(At least, I'm pretty sure that's what he said, but I'm not 100% sure. <sigh again>)

I think that the hardest part is just feeling so off-kilter all the time. Because we haven't really found our equilibrium, it's easy for little things to make a big difference. That means that a challenging experience (wherein we stand around looking like the most enormous, awkward gringos ever) can be enough to practically reduce us to tears and start thinking about which family members we can mooch off of if we decide to head back to the warm, familiar embrace of the U.S. of A.

Of course, the oppositive is also true. (Thankfully!) Because we feel like such newbies and outsiders, even the smallest of kindnesses - like a friendly smile or an invitation out to dinner - are enough to make our confidence soar and cause us to fall in love with Xela and its beautiful people even more than ever before.

I'm hoping that, the longer we're here, the wider our comfort zone will become, until we're able to really feel like we've found enough space to find balance. Until then, I guess we'll pray that the thousands of little kindnesses we've found since living here will continue to come our way. ('Cause I'm pretty sure we're not going to stop being enormous, awkward gringos anytime soon...)