Thoughts on Furlough and My new friend

My parents went back to their own home earlier this week and now I'm here on my own. I know I'm not alone alone, but it's strange being here without my parents, since this is their house when they're in Germany and I've never been here without them. Our furniture and everything over 20 years old is still here and when we come back on furlough, it's like we come to a place where time has frozen. We still use our old stuff (who needs new stuff when you only use it a few weeks a year anyway?), reunite with our loyal friends, attend the same church, and do life for a few weeks before we leave again.

Furloughs were always fun for us kids because we got to eat the yummy German food, see our old friends, buy new clothes, and ride our bikes to get everywhere. For my parents it wasn't as restful between speaking engagements, filing taxes, getting us kids and themselves to all the check-up appointments, and still having on their minds the things that are going on with the church in Turkey. Anyway, it was nice to be with my parents here in Germany as a 'grown-up' after I haven't been here for 5 years.

Since they've been gone, I've tried to keep myself busy by adapting the flat to my taste and making friends with our kind neighbors. One of them is a lady over 70 years old who knew me when we lived in Germany 17 years ago and she really likes my family. Well, she lives on her own also, but for the last 2 days, she has invited me over for lunch and it's been such a sweet time with her telling me stories from her life and us reading the Bible together and praying. It's a blessing for both of us to have something and someone to look forward to and we don't have to eat lunch alone!

Praise God.

Thoughts on Transitions

While I AM arriving back "home" full-circle seemingly, in Germany, it still is a transition time. My energy and motivation isn't quite in full gear and during the day I get lost with what to do.

I've realized that transition times are difficult for me because it's a waiting time: waiting for life to get into a schedule, getting into new rhythms, waiting for me to establish credibility and give people a chance to get to know me, waiting to feel like I belong here...

Transitions are a change in gear and I would think that growing up as a missionary kid and having moved around since then, I would be really flexible and used to hello good-byes. But I don't feel any more immune to it. Is it ever going to get easier? Will I always have this "TCK" (Third culture kid) syndrome of not being able to identify or fully arrive with any one culture or country? Feeling rooted in many places, yet realizing not a lot of those roots are super deep?

Please read this

This week, my family got to go to the little town where my mother grew up and where my uncle now lives and runs a Christian rehabilitation center for people needing emotional, spiritual, and physical help in life. They use an amazing integration of worship, therapy sessions, community, and work.

My uncle and his wife have given everything to run this house (an extension of their own house) and to help these people who need some extra grace and patience with everything. Five years ago, I lived at the house for 2 weeks to help out with whatever was needed and just hang out with the residents. Already back then I was in such support of what my uncle was doing. It was really neat to go back this year, five years later with some more life experience as well as some counseling/psychology and theology classes under my belt. Again, I was really touched and the whole deal really had an impression on me--how needy people there can find a balance of 'methods' that gives room to heal and become a more whole person.

Even the worship time in the mornings has developed to be more hands-on and integrative (such as having the residents lay a paper crown at the foot of the cross to symbolize laying down their glory for Jesus'). In this way, the residents are more engaged and it can be very therapeutic for them.

Anyway, thought I would share this.