re-entry

as i flipped through the pictures i took in the DR with my mom, my heart grew sad. my voice sounded hollow and the pictures almost looked fake as i tried to tell the stories of the week. it paled next to the real experience, and i realized that the experience, even less than twenty four hours later, is starting to slip away.

i thought i would start by re-visiting my top ten lists... my expectations were more than a little off.

top ten things i thought will be challenging about the week:
1. the bugs
2. the heat... we were at an altitude that was fairly comfortable! lots of sweat but beautifully cool nights...
3. making friends... always a way that God's work surprises me.
4. communicating across a language barrier... the most communicating i did was with kids under the age of ten. a lot gets across without words.
5. serving with folks whose theology is different than mine... turns out to shovel dirt, pound nails, or even teach bible school and pray, your theology does not have to totally line up with your partners' theologies.
6. the bugs
7. latrines... didn't have to use one!
8. i am outta shape... physical labor here i come!... which was more embarrassing? awkward shoveling and hammering or a baseball game with domicanos (who play all the time, are in shape, and let's just say can hit the ball... more than i can do). baseball for sure.
9. the bugs
10. the bugs... so in the mountains, the bugs are not nearly as bad as i thought they would be (or as they are in other parts of the country). i only had one incident with a very large bug in the bathroom. and on a hike i got some killer bites that were not mosquitoes. they still itch.

top ten things i was excited about:
1. time with God... being away to "spend time with God" helped clarify how i do spend time with God everyday.
2. communicating across a language barrier... even i can pick up a few words in a week. i feel motivated to try to work on spanish.
3. working with kids (love it!)... both the easiest and hardest thing all week. more later.
4. the heat... i love feeling the warmth of the sun, and sometimes miss that in the bay area.
5. the company... i got to know the church that i grew up at in a new and exciting way.
6. learning to work with folks whose theology is different than mine...
7. not being in charge... for a week, i went were i was told to go when i was told to go there. it was glorious. and i had so much to learn from my teammates.
8. time... without so much "clutter" in my life, i had time to draw, read, play games. i must work on that.
9. no internet... new rule. no internet on vacation. and i should take at least a half day internet vacation once a week. what a relief. made it so much easier to be present on the trip. (internet was available but i resisted).
10. making friends... i hope this week is just the foundation of friendships that stretch across the country and beyond, with people similar to and different than me, and with entire communities. i learned in an all new way what in means to believe in an incarnated, in-relationship God.

there is hope in the ways that God works without us knowing it. i hope that this piece of my journey is woven into the fabric of my life in a way that brings me closer to God's call for me and my place in building God's kingdom.