Back in the US of A for 6 weeks

Here I am back in the USA for just 6 short weeks.  I have to say that upon leaving Brazil I was feeling a little melancholy.  I had finally settled into Brazil and felt at home there.  I had learned enough language to be conversational, gotten involved in a local church and small group, and met some wonderful friends along the way.  I was sad to leave it all behind for the summer.  But I can say that it was all worth it to see the faces of my dad and grandma waiting for me in the airport when I arrived in Louisville.  What a blessing it is to be able to spend time with my family!  My first two weeks at home have been very busy.   The first 3 days were full of fatigue, excitement, and the grief of losing a loved one.  The days to follow were busy with visiting friends, updating them on my ministry, working on developing the ESL program for Amazon Valley Academy (AVA), and speaking at a friend's church on my ministry & missions in general.  The beginning of this week was the first time I was able to sit back, relax, and rest.  It feels good to do that after almost 5 months of being busy, busy, busy!  

Some of you may be wondering if I have felt any reverse culture shock coming back to the States.  Well there have been a few things that were hard to readjust to.  One being the fact that I can actually flush my toilet paper down the toilet now.  For some reason, I keep forgetting that.  There have been a few moments of me totally freaking out when not finding a trash can near the toilet.  Then it will hit me, "Oh, I can just flush it."  :)

 Secondly, the air conditioning has really been tough the readjust to.  After living in the Amazon heat for 4 months with no air conditioner, my body has acclimated to that climate.  Now that I'm back in America, I am cold anytime I am in a room with air conditioning and I can't stop sneezing!  

Overall, I look forward to my next four weeks here in the USA, but also look forward to getting back to Brazil.  People keep asking me if I had fun 'over there', and while I can't say that my life in Brazil is all fun and games, I can say that it is a good feeling to know I'm in the center of God's will.  Knowing that God wants me there is enough to get me through any hard times that come my way!  

"The place that God calls us is that place where the world's deep hunger and our deep desire meet." 

-Frederick Buechner