Reverse culture shock? Ya...

About the reverse culture-shock. It was not as shocking as when I returned from India two years ago. I think I was bracing myself for it this time, expecting to feel really out-of-sorts when I got home.

I did abhor my cell phone for the first few days. I just wanted to take life slow, and not feel barraged with lots of noise and busy-ness. After seven months of having a phone that only a few people called me on, and not having easy access to the internet, I didn't feel the need to be constantly in touch with 50 people at once.

I also thought it would be important to take things a little slow, allowing myself to realize where I had just been, and not cut myself off from Africa by plunging into my old daily routine. I'm glad I did that.

The supermarkets were a tad overwhelming. I couldn't bring myself to look above the bottom shelf in the store aisles, afraid that the rows of options and bright packaging would be too much to handle in once glance.

At the same time, I experienced going from the equivalent of Walmart in Kenya to the Kibera slums in just a five-minute walk. So there was shock there also, and it made returning to the U.S., land of consumer abundance, less disorienting.

It's also been so nice having great friends to share about Africa with, and I am still in the process of this! In the process of working on sharing a few pictures with you all, and thanking my very generous financial and prayer supporters for all the faith and excitement you had in my trip.

It's an ongoing process that I can't let distractions snatch away! I have heard some updates from Freetown recently. Mainly, that all the Lighthouse kids went on a week-long retreat and had meaningful reflection and fellowship time. Several of the Lighthouse youth are currently enrolled in a summer school where, the staff reports, the instructors actually TEACH. Hippee! Santigie and Papanie are among the students doing that right now ;) I have a feeling Victoria and Veronica (her twin sister) are not doing as well, so they are in need on continued prayer.

More soon ... hopefully some pictures to share this week! And if you're still reading ... you're awesome! Thanks for being a cool friend :)

Being back from Africa...

Arriving home felt strangely normal. I stumbled into my parents' house in Carlsbad, stomach a little weak from the 4 different brands of medication I was on, and all of a sudden, it felt like no time had passed since leaving for Africa.

But time had passed. Seven long months in East Africa, the Middle East and then West Africa did happen. Those experiences molded me and changed me, and yet, like the kids walking through the wardrobe returning from Narnia, it felt like no time had really gone by.

I forced myself to take it easy those first few weeks at home, and I'm glad I did. Otherwise, the "reverse culture shock" might have been worse, and I may have rushed back into busy American life without taking time to consider all the places I had come from, and the beautiful people I had met.

The past 6 weeks have been filled with incredible blessings. I was reunited with my family and with Ted. I spent a week in Sacramento with Ted's wonderful family and meet many important people in his life. I also had opportunities to see several good friends. I went to a couple weddings, had a huge 60th birthday party for my mom, and introduced Ted to lots of people.

And the whole time I had Africa on my mind. Before coming back, our team leader Stephanie asked us what we would do to keep our Sierra Leone experience alive. Who would we tell about it? How would we remember and not let the memories become buried? Cami, the field director in Freetown, asked us more pointedly, "How are you going to be true to this place? To the kids we all got to know?" Santigie, Victoria, Papanie - how will I be true them in how I tell their stories, and how I choose to live.

I think those are important questions to be asking myself. About one month ago, I printed all the pictures I had taken with the Lighthouse kids and wrote personalized notes for each of them. Cami asked us to please send pictures that we took of the kids back to Freetown, so that the youth could own more pictures of themselves. I wanted to do that as quickly as I could, and it ended up being such a joy, a special opportunity to let them know I remember them, and I value each of them so highly.

I don't like thinking about not seeing the people in Freetown again. I suppose that's hard with any place you visit. I just feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to go, and I continue to hope that my experience there will be integrated into where I am now.

I know God is the perfect Author who can weave all of these strands into something excellent for His glory.