Wow. We did it! We survived 4 weeks with absolutely no campus activity, all local restaurants being closed, and extremely random bus times. As the campus began to liven, our spirits started to rise. For the past 3 weeks we have been surrounded by students, teachers, and offensive smells of the burning of trash, food, branches, and waste that we can never grow fond of. Amen!
The daily life here is very simple and convenient. We can walk across the street to grab our fresh vegetables and fruits or head to our local diner to visit our new friends. Even through the hustle and bustle of the city, there doesn't seem to be any hurry to be anywhere. There are moments when time seems to stand still. It's quite a change of pace from growing up in the DFW metropolis.
We have been here for 7 weeks without experiencing any severe culture shock. All of a sudden, everything began to change last week. We couldn’t put our finger on it. Then we realized we are going through culture shock, but it is not any form of culture shock we have read about or heard others speak about. Something deep inside our hearts was longing to break free from the status quo. This culture shock we were experiencing was that of the Son. “J Culture Shock”.
We grew up with the American culture of “safety and security.” We were taught to always keep a savings account/emergency fund for those “what-if’s” that may come when we least expect them. While seeking the Father in preparation to move to our new country, we gave Him our safety and security in efforts of trust and obedience to His will. The consequence to our actions has led to a severe state of Culture Shock. J Culture Shock. Recently we have been living the pryer, “Give us this day our daily bread.”
Father has put this challenge in our lives to stop worrying about the future and instead rely upon Him for today. He has convicted us to seek Him in each and every daily need, large or small. Unfortunately, in the past we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. As independent thinkers, we are taught to provide for ourselves. We have always relied on Father having our back when we fail rather than keeping Him in the forefront of our sight, seeking Him first for provision. J said His followers would leave behind security, money, convenience, and even family for Him. Some call this radical faith. Others call it crazy love. We call it being a “disciple”.
"The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and unhypocritical faith.” 1 Tim. 1:5
Where our feet have failed and our fear settled in, J has yet to leave us. When the oceans rise we keep our eyes above the waves and we find ourselves being taken deeper than our feet could ever wander.
It’s lonely being the outsider. J’s faith was stretched the hard way because He learned what it was like to live in a foreign land. His culture was threatened by Him because He was different. His message was often misunderstood. But those who patiently listened to Him found true love and peace – they found their Savior.
Praises:
1. Praise Him for revealing Himself to us! We are growing in His word more and more each day.
2. Hot water! All but one shower we’ve taken has been with hot water. Thankful for tiny comforts.
3. Continued communication with those back home. We have received strong pryer accountability in many circumstances.
Pr Request:
1. Brokenness. We desire to be broken and desperate for Father in such a way that we stop relying on ourselves and fully rely on Him.
2. For the spirit to lead our trust where it is without borders.
3. As many of you know, we endured many immunizations/inoculations at high costs in preparation for our move. We were due to receive the second round of the JE shot 28 days later (not available in our country but closely available in Thailand), but we were unable to leave our country because our visa was not ready before school started. Discouragingly, we have to start over with our JE injections. We have the time in July/August to travel to Thailand to get this taken care of, but we do not have the funds to travel to Thailand, purchase the injections, and have 28 days of living expenses. Please join us in seeking His guidance and provision for this situation that it may clear to know His will for us.
4. Create in me a clean heart, O Father. Psalm 51:10