Here are some thoughts on this round of culture shock as Abdi and I returned to Kenya from the US, hope it wasn't so long between posts that you've forgotten who I am :)
I had some difficult weeks returning, to be honest, and I thank God that as I choose to be thankful and set my mind on things above, my heart is feeling more at home and at peace. It is always a struggle to cross cultures and to leave the comfort of familiar people, places, food, clothing, language, etc. As cross-cultural missionaries, we’re taught that the best way to get over the shock is to immerse yourself, look for positive differences and be thankful for the good things from your home culture without obsessing over them. The worst thing to do is hide in your house, shield yourself from interaction with anything unfamiliar, and hope the storm will pass-because it does’t pass it just gets worse! This is the first time I’ve gone thru that process with a husband, which in some moments was a comfort and others a challenge. It is a wonderful thing to have a shoulder to cry on, and Abdi was so patient and forgave my judgmental or thankless comments in my moments of missing familiarity. And to his credit, he eventually stopped asking me why I was crying (wow, never thought I was the crying type of gal)! I am thankful that God is using Abdi to shape and correct me, and that Abdi was brave enough to challenge me to lift up my head and see all the blessings around me and to remember that joy and peace are fruits of the Spirit. My circumstances may not warrant either of those ‘emotions’, but that’s precisely the time the fruit of the powerful Spirit inside of me should show. On my own, I’m weepy, irritable and impossible to satisfy-but by His power I can do all things, including not complain when the power goes off again :)
I had some difficult weeks returning, to be honest, and I thank God that as I choose to be thankful and set my mind on things above, my heart is feeling more at home and at peace. It is always a struggle to cross cultures and to leave the comfort of familiar people, places, food, clothing, language, etc. As cross-cultural missionaries, we’re taught that the best way to get over the shock is to immerse yourself, look for positive differences and be thankful for the good things from your home culture without obsessing over them. The worst thing to do is hide in your house, shield yourself from interaction with anything unfamiliar, and hope the storm will pass-because it does’t pass it just gets worse! This is the first time I’ve gone thru that process with a husband, which in some moments was a comfort and others a challenge. It is a wonderful thing to have a shoulder to cry on, and Abdi was so patient and forgave my judgmental or thankless comments in my moments of missing familiarity. And to his credit, he eventually stopped asking me why I was crying (wow, never thought I was the crying type of gal)! I am thankful that God is using Abdi to shape and correct me, and that Abdi was brave enough to challenge me to lift up my head and see all the blessings around me and to remember that joy and peace are fruits of the Spirit. My circumstances may not warrant either of those ‘emotions’, but that’s precisely the time the fruit of the powerful Spirit inside of me should show. On my own, I’m weepy, irritable and impossible to satisfy-but by His power I can do all things, including not complain when the power goes off again :)
Praying for you, Lu! Thank you fur such an honest blog. XO
ReplyDeleteLove hearing your heart! I needed that encouragement, even without the culture shock. Miss you and still so glad we got to see you this summer!
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