Two Worlds

Posted by on May 25, 2012 in Blog, Uncategorized | 0 comments

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From the remote fishing village of Mahabana in Madagascar to the sprawling park of Disneyland… this is our life in two worlds.

    We’ve been back in the States for 3 weeks now.  It’s been a period of adjustment as we transition from our lives in Madagascar and the Philippines to our life here in Santa Barbara.  On many levels it’s been a fairly easy transition but there has also definitely been some bumps along the road.  In some ways, this is second nature to Jamie because he’s done this back and forth thing for most of his life as he grew up as a missionary kid in Madagascar.  But for me on the other hand, it’s a bit of a new experience.  Sure I’ve been back and forth but in the past I’ve never come back from Madagascar, tried to settle into life in the States for a few months, while at the same time, prepare for our return to life in Madagascar.  What I’ve come to realize is that our life is split between two different worlds and two very different cultures… and perhaps these two couldn’t be more drastically opposite.  Rich and poor.  Clean and well… not so clean.  Land of opportunity and the land of in-opportunity.  Task oriented and relationship oriented.  Time oriented and event oriented.  Exposure of vulnerabilities and concealment of vulnerabilities.

The result is change.  Change in ourselves– in the ways we view life, in the things we value, in the ways we perceive ourselves, others and the world around us.  The results are subtle but they are there and I hope they are for the most part good.  Either way, these changes are a bit mind-boggling at times as we discover more about the ways that Christ has been working on us.

I admit that it’s painful, lonely and not always pleasant at times to live between two worlds and the transitions that come with this life that God has called us to.  Yet at the same time, there’s no place we’d rather be.

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