Two Weeks And Counting

This may be my next to the last entry. I was updating weekly, but news has become routine, so not much to blog about.

For Thanksgiving, the missionaries got together in a resort town called Caberete and enjoyed good times together. I have spent Thanksgivings in many places, but this probably felt less like Thanksgiving than any other place. I guess because we mostly had burgers and salads on the beach instead of traditional stuff. I did get the “Thanksgiving” special, but it wasn’t quite like you probably had.

We then headed to Santo Domingo for the weekend. It was good to spend the time with the missionaries, and learn more about the most significant (largest/capital) city here (supposedly 2.25M people). Christopher Columbus had a huge impact here. And, many things in Santo Domingo are the oldest in the “America’s”. Really interesting.

My Santiago family is doing well. But, now that I’m spending more time in Rio San Juan, we’re definitely in a pulling away mode. But, I think that’s good in the long run, for all of us. They’re getting more use to me not being around as much; and vice versa. It’s something we all knew had to come, but it’s not so easy.

I’ve been averaging about half my time in Rio San Juan which is were the missionary teams are. It’s certainly different than Santiago. No fast food; no American food, no grocery stores or anything else to speak of. No place to call my own. But, the folks here are great and warm, and I enjoy being around them. Any time I’m around people that seem to have given up everything to serve, they impress me.

Many people are asking if I’ve learned Spanish or how the Spanish is going. And to be honest, the questions (if I can be honest) get trying, because learning a language is extremely difficult to explain; and everyone learns at a different pace, and you don’t wake up one day and you’ve “learned” a language. All things I’ve learned since I started studying Spanish. There are days I understand what I consider a lot; and other days I think I’ve learned nothing. And, if you’ve never tried to really learn another language, there’s no real reference point. At least that was the case for me. Trying to learn a foreign language has made me so much more sympathetic to foreigners living outside their own country, trying to adjust to culture, language, and life in a new country. I’ve had it relatively easy compared to most others, but there are still days when I wonder what in the world am I doing. Another reason missionaries are so impressive to me.

Three months have passed. I’ve learned so much. And, as usual, learned I know so little. And, wonder what I’ve really learned and how best to use that knowledge. I could talk for days about culture and trying to understand where people are coming from and then try to know how to really help them. I am surrounded by people in need; we live in a dying world, but knowing how to help is really really challenging. Some things I thought of before I got here…. Just not so sure any more.

If I look back and see all the “stuff” I’ve been involved with, I’d have to say that adults really rarely change. True for myself (regrettably) true for others. Children can have remarkable changes, it seems. And often do. But what exactly that means for me personally, not sure. I think it means I’m planning to move more cautiously into the next phase of whatever my life brings. You start out wide eyed, and ignorant and ready to conquer the world. You end up with more knowledge (hopefully), more questions, and more understanding but also wondering what part of the world you want to tackle, and why. When you end up with choices, lots and lots of choices, choosing gets really hard. I don’t want to be a spectator sitting in the stands, but I also don’t want to be fighting for something that’s not worth fighting for.

I believe the answers lie in wisdom and I believe wisdom comes from God and I believe my receiving wisdom is based on faith. So, I’m hoping for a mustard seed of faith.