Last night as I was doing my quiet time, I started to feel uneasy about things, and had a sense that something just wasn't right. I started to slowly move down the mountain top. A few hours later, I got some news. I was right. Something wasn't right. I can't mention it here, but it had turned some peoples worlds upside down.
This morning I woke up in what we on the field say, stage 2. You see there's 5 levels of culture shock. Stage 1 - honeymoon stage, everything is amazing. Stage 2 - the slightest thing annoys you to death. Stage 3 - you're finally good with where you are. Stage 4 - Re-entry or reverse culture shock, it's going back home and wishing you were back in the place you just left. Stage 5 - back to 'normal' - You'll never go back to where you were, but you've readjusted.
So yeah, I started this day in full on stage 2. Not so much that I hated where I was, just the slightest thing would annoy me. In fact our heater started making noises and I told it to shut-up! Yeah.
So we went putting out flyers on cars this morning, which took us all of like 30 minutes. Later this afternoon, Katie and I headed out to go prayer-walking. We set out to go to the old part of town. Well, we didn't quite make it there. We 1st made an amazing 17 minute long video of random things as we remembered them, then changed our plans. Mostly becuase we're so use to plans changing now! Instead we decided to prayer walked along the beach and part of the coast line.
But today, there was almost no one on the beach. Odd to me. As I came to the end of the beach and started walking back, I saw the statue of Jesus standing on the 'mountain'. It struck me odd, that these people walk by a statue of Christ everyday. Everyday they 'see' Him. Yet, yesterday I was talking with two young girls and they said how they hated going to a church, even if just on the holidays. Christ is just a statue here. He's not alive and well. He's not living in their hearts. They do not know Him - they have no relationship. Just a mere statue that was built before their time. As I walked, I prayed that He will become a living God to them, not just a figure on top of the 'mountain'. And just as the beach was barren and the waters came up, I prayed too that He would overtake them and quench their thirst, or perhaps even just give them a thirst for Him.
Walking along the beach can cure stage 2 in a heart beat. Not only that, but we ran into 2 people from the states (CA). Finding someone whom you can converse with is a rarity here, seeing that some speak Basque and others Spanish (and if you do happen to speak a few words of Spanish - watch out, because then they start to you thinking you can understand everything - I know this from experience!).
There are so many things that happen each day, it's just hard to write it all down. And so many things that happened this last month that I didn't get to write about. I'm sure most of it will come out along the way. So bear with me and endure.
Til next time...
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