Words From the Past

Last Sunday God actually used my own words to speak to me. This isn't bragging; rather, it's a huge relief because most of the time I feel so unusable/unused. Say, 99.5% of the time. I can only offhand recall one or two incidents where I actually know I did something lasting. But the pastor was talking about how exciting and enticing God is, and what was going through my mind I can't now recall, but my words that He brought to mind were...well, really, it won't make as much sense as it would if I include a few excerpts rather than just the summing-up words.

One year ago today, we stepped on the plane to Germany. One year we've been away from home. What a long, strange trip it's been...

Excerpt from my journal:

5 Feb 94, Sri Lanka

Words, pictures, even a video camera could not get Sri Lanka across to a Western mind. We were trying to come up with descriptions on our ride from the airport, but nothing really worked. Lush, we said, but you would think of a Club Med vacation. Poor, we tried, but then we'd see large intricate shrines and houses. I was desperately trying to match things I was seeing to experiences--this reminds me of that--but nothing connected. But when Mark said over dinner, "Welcome to the Third World", I thought, "Yeah, that's it!" There were people walking wherever you looked; not masses and masses, but some everywhere. Cows and dogs roamed the roads, and drivers were a kind of free-for-all...

...What else have we learned?

-That loving your neighbor is easier when you don't actually live with them.
-That I could pass as a native in a number of countries. (Until I opened my mouth, that is.)
-That nowhere else that we've been do people live and eat like they do in the States...

24 Dec 1994

Christmas Eve in Malta. In downtown Valletta, Christmas lights dance across every street; hawkers' craft booths are stretched out under them. A man named Ray is preaching in the streets, and 24 people respond to his message, in the very spot where, 30 years ago, almost to the very day, he was arrested for doing that same thing...

...Well, since 9 Jan 94, we've visited 14 countries and 19 ports in those countries. We battled constant illness for seven straight months, said good-bye to friends we may never see again on this earth, got infrequent mail from back home, laughed a lot and cried more--what have we learned? That's God's presence is the most exciting thing on the face of the earth.

Those last words were the ones.