I Never Made a Sacrifice

Moving cross-culturally is hard, painfully and gut-wrenchingly hard.

Don't get me wrong, everyday life isn't easy either especially with underwater mortgages, job-loss, rebellious kids, divorces, etc.

But one reason living cross-culturally is so difficult is that it is an acceptance of an increased burden on top of the difficulties of everyday life. I mean, who wants to deal with the trivial annoyances of work, groceries, kids, home repair, bills, and neighbors but also new foods, getting lost, being illiterate, new languages, and strange cultural customs?

Few. Yet if the nations are going to hear the good news someone has to go. At least thats how David Livingstone saw it:
"Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice."

Examples from people like Livingstone are what separate the men from the boys and reveal those who truly understand that they are mere immigrants in this life. "I never made a sacrifice."

Convicting.

The Comfort of the American Bathroom

I love my life.

I love SuperBock.

I love getting in the car and driving 7 minutes to my favorite Beach in Estoril.

I love firing up the churrasco and grilling with just salt and a squeeze of Lemon.

I love sitting out in the morning and enjoying my café watching the rabbits scurry in the field behind our house...

but there is nothing like the comfort of an American bathroom to make me question my choice of living in my new home country.

We've just arrived in the U.S. after being away for nearly 18 months and while there isn't much that I've missed about living in America there is one thing that American's do right. Bathroom comfort. Instant hot water, strong water pressure, bathroom fans that keep the room clean and fresh, anti-fog mirrors, nice shower curtains, a powerful flush on the toilet all add up to a wonderful experience for life's more private moments. Don't get me wrong- our bathroom at home isn't bad its just not American.

In all seriousness, I have no desire to return to the U.S.

There is plenty of work to do where we are, we're making great friends, we have a great life and our daughter is growing up bilingual. But while the American bathroom isn't a compelling reason for us to return I wonder if the comfort is enough to keep others from answering God's command to go, serve, and preach.

I Was Afraid

The blogosphere is full of macho talk. Visit any travel blog and you'll encounter stories of heroism, adventure, excitement and #winning. And why wouldn't you? Saying goodbye to an old way of living/thinking and embracing something new is exciting…but it's also scary. Even as a Christian who believes in the promises of God and in his sovereignty I confess that choosing to uproot and move abroad was scary.

In my old life I had the notion of security and was working towards a comfortable, predictable future in retirement. When it finally dawned on me that I needed to leave waves of fear pulsed through me:

I was afraid that I was throwing my life away.

I was afraid that I was choosing perennial poverty.

I was afraid of having a baby in a foreign country.

I was afraid of having to learn a new language.

I was afraid of being lonely.

I was afraid of getting lost all the time.

But I was also afraid of realizing in my final moments of life that I had never really lived because I was too afraid.

I'm not afraid anymore.