Stranger in a strange Land...

I live in the United States!

Near the end of December, my husband and I boarded a plane and walked together through the "US citizens and Permanent Residents" line at the airport. We shared a giddy moment as we experienced God's awesomeness after Angel received the official welcome from the Homeland Security office. Then, we picked up our suitcases and exited the sliding doors. The "surrealness" of the entire trip will be always imprinted on my mind. After a year and a half of praying and waiting, we made it to the place God had affirmed to us as our next place of ministry.

We have so much to learn and so much to explore. Before we left Mexico, so many people lovingly said to me, "You must be so happy to be going 'home.'" Huh? Texas? Home? First of all, I grew up in Virginia. As far as the states go, I bleed east coast.

The question stung a little deeper, though, than the fact that I all I knew previously of Texas was Dallas, Houston, and a small border town. It stung deeper that some of the people I had known for two years didn't realize that I was home in Mexico. I spent nearly seven years immersing myself in a culture unlike the one I knew from childhood to early adulthood. I speak the language, I eat the food, and I walk the pace.

Now I have to readjust.

I adore Brenham! The small, historic town truly captured me from the first few days we lived here. I enjoy browsing the cool antique shops housed in amazing buildings as antique as the wares. The historic culture of Texas simply stares me largely in the face awaiting my embrace.

And so I have this strange mix of excitement and uncertainty. I speak Spanish with our church--what should I say in the supermarket? The kid at the cash box looks at me funny when I say things like "cash box" instead of "register." The woman at the DMV makes me feel almost criminal because my marriage license has a Mexican judge's signature and is in Spanish. The fellow Christians at the local "English" church don't quite know how to respond when I say my last name as it sounds in Spanish. I frustrate myself when I can't get English out of my mouth the way it should come out, or forget a word in Spanish here and there. WHO AM I?

I miss the weekly market. I long for the corner store where I can buy a kilo of eggs in a pinch. I want to pet my dogs who stayed behind with a loving family.

But I'm here now. And I will grow. God has great things in store, for if not, I don't believe He would have moved us here. I like Brenham. I think I'll learn to love it. And the day will come when my husband and I will most likely move on again to another strange land, and God will remind me that He is in control. And one day He'll bring me home to Him where I will no longer be a stranger in a strange land.