More on re-entry...

• I think God certainly created us to work together…it’s hard sometimes but I really think it’s healthier…we’re not all alike, and when we work together I think it draws different parts of each of us out and they complement one another…I think it’s actually the same things that make it healthy make it really hard too sometimes…we face things in other people that we wish we had in us, or we face things in others that we don’t necessarily like but are good and helpful and necessary at certain times…maybe some of you who are married are thinking, “duh, Heidi!” Because I imagine and have heard that this is most evident in the relationship between husband and wife, but let me tell you it’s not only in that relationship that this is true. The rest of us are roommates, and coworkers, and teammates and friends and sons/daughters and brothers/sisters of various kinds.

• I’m thinking about this because it was showcased at my front door this afternoon. Michael sent a woman and her 4 mo nephew whose mother died 3 weeks ago after being bitten by a snake. This woman, named Rebecca, has been breastfeeding this child since the mother died and she lives about an hour and a half away from me. Someone told her that the people at our church help orphans and so she came seeking some kind of assistance (she never really said what exactly she expected to get/find in the way of assistance). Unfortunately she doesn’t really fit the program that we have, and the child seems healthy for the most part, so there’s not much we have to offer her. Pat and I talked with her together and as we prayed for this woman after giving her money for transport home and some small pocket money I realized that God had used my familiarity with the programs available, and my practical/factual persona, combined with Pat’s language skills, personable/winsome/compassionate persona to show what I can only pray was love to this woman. I was smacked in the face by my lack of compassion and love and tendency towards rules and guidelines, but was so very thankful for Pat’s presence and communication and relating to/with this woman.

• Because of this interaction with Rebecca, I’m also realizing what I anticipated might be the case before we came back…I think I’m engaging more…it’s hard but it’s good. I’ve been in survival mode I think for the last 3 (almost 4) months and now I’m coming out of my shell…my emotionally protective shell…watch out world…or maybe I feel like I have the potential to come of my shell, we’ll just have to see what happens. I feel like I’m beginning to be more aware of the disparity here, more aware of the reality of the situations people are in around me. I’m feeling more of the weight of needing to be faithful with the resources God has given me and what that might look like/not look like. What does love look like/not look like? All of this means more questions, more being unsure, and likely more tears.

• You should also know that with experience here in Bundibugyo also comes the ability to kill large spiders, the size of my hand, ALL BY MYSELF! This afternoon, the cho, 1 can of Doom, 1 cho lid, 1 dustpan, and no screams. Hasta la pasta spider! Now, if only they had Doom for snakes…I have yet to see one but that’s gonna be quite the event, I’m sure.