Foreigners Again

This is a busy week. We are no longer weeks away from leaving our home here. It's only days away now. That realization is bringing lots of emotions for us and for our friends here. As the week moves along, the goodbyes are getting harder and the tears come more frequently. Some friends are already distancing themselves from us. And we somewhat feel ourselves doing the same thing. It's a protective measure, I think. Several weeks have gone by since we last saw one of our dearest friends. We got a text from him the other night saying he had been trying to get used to life in KK without us. And that it was going to be hard. Very hard. Pray for him and for us.

Can I make a confession? I'm a little bit scared to go "home". Don't get me wrong. I ADORE my family and friends in the States and am BEYOND excited to finally see them and hug them and talk to them and just "be" with them. But the thing is....we are going to be foreigners again. We aren't the same people we were when we left there two years ago. We see things differently. We love differently. We process life differently. We get excited about different things. Different things are important to us than the things were when we left. WE are different. Oh, I'm sure there are many things about the old us that remain, but there's a whole lot of new us, too....especially on the inside.

And honestly, we find ourselves a tiny bit anxious about how we will relate to people. Or not relate, as the case may be. And on the flip side, we think most people will have a hard time relating to us, too. We have, after all, been living a life for the last two years that is vastly different from the one most people are living. We've been told that will make it difficult when we get home....for us and for those around us. So bear with us if we seem distant or different than you remember. The truth is....we really are.

But isn't that what growth is all about? God is in the business of molding and shaping us into His image, so how could we not be different after two years? We know many of you are different, too. We might be a tad anxious about that....but even still....we sure are excited to reconnect with old friends and make some new ones. We pray the new us and the new you are going to love each other in a whole new way!!!