I lived this life once…but it seems so distant.
On Driving:
The roads are so smooth! Everyone follows the lines! No one is driving on the shoulder!
“Think right, Think right, Think right…” (the right side of the road, that is)
Constantly turning on the windshield wipers instead of the blinker…. (did you know they are reversed in British cars?)
Pay attention to the speed limit! (In Dar we never can go fast enough to worry about the speed limit).
In the store:
SO MUCH! So many choices….so many yummy things….how is there ever time to eat it all? Why do we need 16 types of Cheez-Its to choose from?
Everything is processed! Where is the flour and yeast? Why should I even bother making a homemade pumpkin pie when it’s cheaper to buy the bakery one? I must admit that’s a bit disheartening.
WHY DO PEOPLE BUY ALL THIS BOTTLED WATER? Buy a Brita, save the money you spend on bottled water, and send it to a country where the majority of people watch their babies die from water-borne diseases. Oops, I’ll get off my soapbox now.
Will I remember what to do? Do I remember how to pay with a credit card? I feel foolish, awkward…everyone expects me to know what to do…I look American…but I feel out of place.
On media:
I hate commercials! I hate advertising! I get immune to this after a while, but every time I come back to the States I feel bombarded. Except that I guess I can’t complain too much since I am a Republican who is very much in favor of a free market economy. Oooh…better not get on that soapbox. So I guess I put up with the advertising.
I like wearing socks. I like using a curling iron. I like not feeling sweaty all the time. I like cooking with cream cheese and raspberries.
Yep, that was pretty much Josiah’s impression of Disneyland.
Finally, a partial smile!
With Grandma
With cousin Maddie
For the first time in my life, we got season passes to Disneyland! Gil’s folks live only a half hour away, and the deal for So. Cal. residents is great. So when we went in to get our passes, they asked for a phone number.
Gil and I just looked at each other. “Ummmm…..”
“Any phone number is okay,” the guy said. “A cell number is fine.”
“Uh, we don’t know….”
“You don’t know your phone number? Any phone number?”
We turned red.
Gil ran out to get his mom’s cell. I fumbled over an explanation which included words like “Africa,” so the guys eyes just glazed over and a polite smile appeared on his face.
We get that a lot.
First bike!
Give him a ball and some dirt and the smile reappears. I still can’t get over seeing him in jeans and long sleeves!
This has been hardest on him, but he’s handling it like a champ.
I’m here for Thanksgiving! Can you believe it? Thank you, Lord!
20: Hours spent in aircrafts
3: Hours Josiah spent sleeping
0: Hours Grace spent sleeping
3: Hours spent trying to get the kids to go to sleep. (“Close your eyes and be still.” Repeat every 60 seconds.)
16: Hours Grace spent watching movies and cartoons (YOU GO, GIRL! We told her what a good job she did on the plane and how proud we were of her, and she looked confused said, “But I just watched TV.” And we said, “Yeah, Great job!”)
.0001: Hours Josiah spent watching TV.
1,347,256: Times Josiah jumped up and down on his airplane seat
25: Times person in front of Josiah turned around to look at us
15: Hours spent in London for layover
65: Dollars spent on hotel room (Hilton Hotel, 4 star. Thanks, Priceline!)
65: Dollars spent on overpriced hotel food (too bad Priceline doesn’t sell food too)
3: Arrived at gate with this many minutes to spare before our second flight took off. (I just thought I would add a little excitement into our trip by majorly underestimating the amount of time it would take us to get through the massive Heathrow airport. Thank the Lord we made our flight. “Run, Grace, Run!”)
11: Number of time zones we went through
4: People in the Medina family who are very happy and content right now.
We made it!!!!
- They definitely feel out of it. Bear with them.
- They actually feel like they have just changed planets, not just countries. Hence the reason they feel out of it.
- They really do want to spend time with you, especially if you have been praying for them or financially supporting them. One of the things they miss the most when living overseas is really great fellowship. This is the best way you can serve your missionary on home assignment.
- They love answering questions about their ministry. Don’t be ashamed to ask questions just because you think you should already know the answer. They don’t remember everything in your Christmas letter either, so they don’t expect you to remember everything they have written about.
- They are really not super-spiritual-Christians, so please don’t put them on a pedestal or be intimidated by them. They get cranky and tired and grumpy at their spouses and children and don’t always have noble motives for what they do. Normal ordinary sinners.
- Go ahead and laugh at them if they wildly exclaim about the smoothness of the roads or the great customer service, or if they say they are freezing when it is 70 degrees.
- They love their mission field, but they love America too. Especially the people.
- They really can take no responsibility for anything they say or do while jetlagged.
Tomorrow is the big day!
My poor husband has been working like a dog lately. These last couple of weeks he’s been putting in 12-14 hour days, every day. He’s getting lesson plans ready for the next 4 1/2 months. He had done a lot of it before we were supposed to leave in October, but then with our delay, the schedule got all turned around and he had to do a lot of it over again.
But I am proud of him. Not just for working so hard, but for what he has accomplished in the Bible department at HOPAC. The whole reason his lesson planning is taking so long is because of the nature of his classes. See, when Gil took over as Bible teacher/chaplain over four years ago, the Bible curriculum had never really been developed at HOPAC. The classes were using a Christian school curriculum that, well…left much to be desired. Each grade had the obligatory text books and work books that were titled things like “History of Israel” and were divided up into neat little sections. Basic OT/NT stuff. Easy to use. Easy to teach. Not particularly interesting.
Now, a good teacher can make even Leviticus and Judges sound interesting (and Gil is a GREAT teacher), but Gil wanted to change the curriculum not simply because of interest. He was more concerned with whether secondary students really need to know all the random details about Leviticus and Judges. So he set off to find a curriculum that he liked better, and when he didn’t find one, he created his own.
Students at HOPAC now essentially get a Christian college Bible education–toned down for high school students. They are studying hermeneutics, ethics, apologetics, world religions, worldview, and the subject matter of Theology I, II, III, and IV (for those of you who went to Christian college). They are reading books like Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer, Living by the Book by Howard Hendricks, Essential Truths of the Christian Faith by R.C. Sproul, and The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. Books not exactly written for teenagers. But they are getting it. (Teens are usually smarter than people give them credit for.)
I am so proud of Gil. I am thrilled at the questions kids ask in class. I am excited about the conversations he has with them. I think his curriculum is awesome. But this is why writing lesson plans is taking him so much time–because it all comes from scratch, all from his head. No neat little workbooks where he can just say, “Do Lesson 15 on Tuesday.”
But I think he, and the HOPAC kids, would agree that it’s worth the extra work.
