Balance

We have been here 3 days now. I wish I could say I feel at home. I just don't feel balanced here. I just read in my devotions that God takes pleasure in Himself and enjoys His own perfection. (Attributes of God; Tozer). If this is where God wants me it is the perfect place for Rebecca and me. Perfect but unbalanced. Is that possible? Things are the same and things are different here:

• There are cars But they are all small
• There are roads But they are narrow and bumpy
• There are birds But they sing jungle songs
• There is electricity But it comes from a different jack
• There is speaking But I don’t understand it
• There are toilets But don’t put the paper down it
• There is water But you don’t drink it out of the tap
• There is money But it’s not easily recognizable
• There are homes But they are all behind walls and gates
• There are beds But they are not king size
• There are stores But I don’t know what’s in the packages
• There are floors But they are all tile
• There are stop signs But they are more of a suggestion
• There is milk But it comes in a unrefrigerated box
• There is fruit But the flavor is explosive
• There is God And He is loved and worshipped

I guess I need to focus on the unchanging God of the universe. The One who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The One who is the same in Kingsburg and Campinas. The One who is perfect here and there. The One who wants me here. I can find my balance there, with Him.

Dawn

August 8th and 9th, Friday and Saturday.
The day we left and the day we arrived. They are really one day to us if you look at a day as you're up then you sleep. The most painful day in our lives. So much emotion. The more exhausted you are the more your emotions have their way:

• Holding on to my family in big hugs to say good-bye. These hugs were too long and not near long enough.
• The flight. Spending 12 hours in a space that was created to cramp a person who is 5' 10" when your 6' 5".
• Worrying about if my "stuff" was going to arrive with me in Brazil. God was gracious to let my plans succeed just as I planned them.

Then we got here and met up with the Rowes and the family we will be living with for who knows how long. We already love the Rowes, and can see clearly we will love Ralph and Sylvia and their family. This helped when the feeling of the loss of loved ones were so overwhelming that if we were Dorothy we would have clicked our heels three times. I'm glad we couldn't do that.

Sunday.
This is really the Dawn. Got a full nights rest, something I haven't had in at least a month. (I had been waking up at 3 or 4 every morning for quite a while. I felt it was Gods way of getting me ready for the time change, it worked). Keeping with Dorothy, "we're not in Kansas anymore". Little things remind you it's different. The birds singing in the back ground sound more like jungle birds, the paper towels are only around 8 by 8, everything is tile. And it is good.

I am grateful to God for showing me my limits. Reminding me of how I would have done things before He started working in my life. When things would start pressing in on me, I would have lashed out in anger and do something that would get me in trouble because that was what I did growing up. I would rather suffer the punishment than live the stress. I knew I could handle the punishment. Now, up to my limits, I look for Gods leading in the stress. God is faithful.