Life as we know it.

I’d love to be able to explain what my life as a missionary in Uganda is like, but I haven't figured it out yet. However, I can say that the Lord has definitely been at work in my life. He’s changed me and molded me in ways that I have yet to discover. I've experienced living in a completely different culture than my own and have learned to embrace it, to be flexible, and am constantly learning to allow God control over areas of my life that I'm holding onto. While I’ve definitely been challenged and changed, there are many things about me that just haven’t. Things about my character come out in a completely different way in a completely different culture. I don’t have any deep examples, but there are things about myself I didn’t realize until I moved to a developing country. So allow me to give you a little snip it of some common dialogue that’s recently been conversed in our house. They are questions that my roommates have casually confronted me with, and they  somehow portray our lives here better than I can explain. I could be disappointed in the way I cling to some of my American ways, but I think I'd rather just find the humor in them. There are things in life that make me happy, and then there are things that just make me laugh. Reliving the things my roommates and I talk about often just make me laugh.

Q: Why did you do your hair, put on make-up and paint your nails? 

A: I got a new Husker shirt in the mail.

- An indescribable new appreciation for my home state. And, taking advantage of any excuse I can to actually look nice.

Q: Are you cleaning your room for a Skype date? 

A: Maybee…

- Don't judge. 

(White person walks by) Missionary, med student or peace corps?

- We all tend to fall into one of three groups, and we're pretty good at calling out which category a white person fits into.

Q: Did you hear Pearl Supermarket has chips?

A: Yeah, we’d better go asap.

- Get rid of any picture of a supermarket you have in your head. We're not talking Wal-mart or Target, here. Tortilla chips are the latest food item they've been bringing in for us. They've also managed to stock some Oreos, Ritz crackers, and occasional chicken fillets. 

Q: Did you go to posta today? 

A: Should I be embarrassed to say twice?

- I've always loved checking the mail, but nothing quite compares to a letter from a friend or that little pink slip stating that a parcel has arrived. A pink slip here is most definitely a good thing. 

Q: Where are those voices coming from? 

A: Well, it could be those children up in the tree on the other side of the hedge trying to get our attention.

- Privacy is to be fought for. 

Q: Are you alright?

A: Am I ever alright after a ride down Nkokonjeru Road in Zillah's car?

- I could blame it on her driving (which might be partially true), but I'll attribute the majority of my carsickness to the deeply rooted, unbearably rocky roads that cause our stomachs to swirl and our heads to constantly hit the ceiling. 

Q: You know keeping the door shut isn’t going to keep the lizards out right? 

A: Let me believe what I want, okay?

- There are no words for the amount of disdain I have for those little things. 

Q: Do you think power's coming back on? Because it's dark, and I don’t know what else to do. I’m going to bed. 

A: Please don’t do that it’s not even 8.

Q: Did you hear that? 

A: Yes, but sometimes it’s more comforting to pretend like I didn’t, so don't ask again.

I’ve learned more about myself simply by watching myself cling to things I didn’t even know I cared about.