nl's thoughts

It has been a long time since we came back to the USA and people ask us if we are used to life here. And I have to say, now it's like we never left, and having lived in India seems likes a vague dream.

Where shopping at Target used to overwhelm and scare me, now I love it as my "quiet space" and like to wander the isles for calming affect after a hectic morning with my kids.

We complain about traffic as much as we used to before, instead of marveling at the orderliness and politness of drivers in comparison to Indian streets.

But we do still remember that our home is not here. Living out of suitcases, getting to stay at various homes, try out different beds, play with different kids, attend all kinds of church services and sunday schools, it's been an adventure!

Overall we have enjoyed our stay here very much and it's actually gotten quite difficult to imagine leaving again. But our tickets are written in the stars. Or I mean, we must return by November, though currently our tickets are for October. Strangely enough, I miss Delhi more than our actual home city.

One of the things I've discovered about myself after some reflection and refreshment, is that ... I was wrong about myself. I thought I could go somewhere overseas where there are no foreigners, stick myself into the culture, make friends, learn the language, bond with people, maybe start a business or non profit, and build a community and be there, a long time, like 10 years or so.

But after having done something similar to that or tried to, for two years, I realized ... I don't think I'm cut out for it. If I'm going to last for the long haul, I need --- a city with other foreigners. I need a body of believers for fellowship, I NEED fellowship with live human beings, not email or skype or phone friends, and I need fellowship with people who really really love God. If I don't have that, I'm just going to burn out and come home chewed up.

I'm really hopeful. I'm excited to realize I'm not as strong as I thought I was. I'm happy to be able to identify what was that elusive factor that made part of my time overseas so difficult. Hopefully this second round, it will be up and up.

Conversations

As I have been learning about the aspect of power encounter in the Gospel,
I realize that I have held a false belief that I have to be super
spiritual to participate with God in such matters. In reality, once I
have received by faith God’s gift of Jesus, then I am now by adoption one
of God’s children and get to wear Jesus’ righteousness instead of my own.
Good works are not a means to God’s favor nor of His use of me in
furthering His Kingdom, but rather good works are an outcome of His favor!
So I brought this “new” realization with me to my latest meeting at a
mosque in Orange County. We discussed many topics, eventually the conversation turned to salvation and Man’'s eternal destination. The man asked me how Christians go to heaven. I responded by sharing something similar to what I shared above regarding the receiving by faith the righteousness of Jesus. He then asked a follow
up question, “how about me? What does your religion say about me as a
Muslim?” What a difficult question to answer! I told him that I don’t
have the authority to say definitively since I don’t know the condition of
his heart, but rather that I am compelled to tell others about the gift
God has given in Jesus and that Jesus’ righteousness is available for
anyone and that it is Jesus’ righteousness, not our own, which allows us
to enter heaven and find favor with God. Before I left he invited me to meet again and we’'ll continue to see how things unfold.