We got home really late on Saturday night and had been up and running (literally at times) since 5:30am that morning. Mandi and I walked all but probably 5 of those 18 hours and I woke up exhausted Sunday morning. I sat on my bed thinking how nice it would be to just be able to go to Graafschap church (that's my home church, not some random name I picked out of thin air) and see people I know who speak English. The thought of going to La Rochette (the church I go to here in Neuchatel) made me even more exhausted to think about. It's a great church and I have met quite a few people already but it is all in French.
I am catching more of the words during sermon and kind of fill in the blanks with my own guesses....perhaps not the best plan, but it's working so far! Mandi had her English Bible so we could follow along in the text. (I'm getting ahead of myself here.) So, prior to church I was fretting and that led to doubts about being here and those doubts led to doubts about being able to to my job in Cameroon. It's amazing how fast my brain can travel from continent to continent in the span of seconds! My primary thought was "Lord, I don't know what I'm doing and if I can even do this!"
Fast forward to church again. Actually, make the part where I was walking to church much slower in your mind......I was a bit sore. So there we are, sitting in the middle section towards the back, surrounded by French speaking people. I rattled off a few greetings.....I have that part down.....I still get the occasional "deer in headlights" look when people ask questions after our greetings though. Church announcements, more talking in French, a prayer, offering, a joke or two I completely miss, and then comes the message. The text is Matthew 14:22-33 and the story of Peter walking on the water. I about fell off the pew! Talk about an answer to my prayers that morning! (Read through the passage and you'll see what I mean.) The only way I could possibly do my job here and in Cameroon is with the Lord's help. I was letting the waves of exhaustion, frustration, culture stress, and anxiety wash over me and I was looking at anything but the Lord. God is so gracious to me, even with my "little faith" at times!
How did the day end? Well, the 3 of us (Mandi, Maralee, and me) were invited over to a couple's house for dinner and we had to speak French most of the time, but they were very gracious and hospitable. They gave us a ride home and I slept for over an hour. Then it was time to finish my homework and catch up with my family over Skype. And, Ibuprofen always helps too!
Castle in Thun. "Swiss" cat in the church. Winter Festival in Grindelwald.
(These are just "teasers" for you to see so far!)
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