Missing & Gaining
A Few of the Things I Miss Here:
- Milk (non-powdered and non-Parmelat)
- Good breakfast cereal (at less than $8/box)
- Real pianos
- My tools
- My inflatable boat and outboard
- Trips w/ kids to get hoagies at Wawa
- Being understood (in English) by most people I encounter
- Not pinching pennies so much
- Having a home church
- Faster-than-molasses internet
- Reliable electricity and water
- Potato chips
- A nice grilled steak
- Church sanctuaries
- A dishwasher
- Smooth roads
- My own car
- Brushing teeth w/ tap water
- Panera/Starbucks/B&N/Daryl's
- Non-cast-off, reject & unmatched dishes/utensils/pots/tupperware
- A non-match-lit stove
- Real maple syrup
- Quietness, especially at night
- Living by paycheck rather than fundraising
- Serious stereo
- A comfortable mattress
- Several of the joys of pastoring
- A measure of thoughtful liturgy in worship services
- YOU
A Few of the Things I’ve Gained Here:
- Christian community at our doorstep
- Impromptu visits from neighbors
- Impromptu hymn sings and jam sessions and prayer with neighbors
- Seeing Bible translations accomplished (Gospel of Luke in Baku(?) two weeks ago)
- No responsibility for car and home repairs
- Great Cameroonian cuisine
- Less interest in possessions of pretty much any sort
- Not having to see and listen to endless political attack adds this election year
- Joy in returning to the classroom
- Warm temps while USA endures endless winter (sorry)
- Swimming in the ocean at Christmas time
- Joy in seeing our kids' priorities move away from stuff and toward Christ and others
- Joy in seeing Heidi's gifts and ministry flourish
- Laughter when seeing Cameroonian jaws drop when Heidi busts into pidgin
- Deep contentment in being able to serve in “my" realms of classroom, pulpit and piano bench
- Seeing direct and significant fruit of ministerial labor
- Teaching many students whose faith and worldview are unusually mature
- Glimpsing how big and wide is God's kingdom
- Awe at seeing the Lord at work greatly and overtly
- An odd thing—the best way I can describe it is a "clarity of faith.” This clarity of faith is energized by—I think—the reality of living among believers who share a laser-focus on Gospel mission while also surrounded by several non-imminent but legitimate perils. These shared dangers continually confirm the urgency of the task, and they mandate an awareness and dependence on the protection and sustaining providence of God. I know that “mission begins at home” and “going around the world won’t make you a missionary if you aren’t one already.” However, sometimes it may take—at least for someone as thick-headed-and-hearted as me—going around the world to start reckoning the actual life-and-death nature of the Kingdom...and His command to be bearers of such Grace.
