I think about it often.
We were tricked, laughed at, got dysentery, stayed in places with no water available, visited doctors offices with paint
peeling in the humitidy....It was almost more than we could bear at the time. But I never expected it to change my perpective permanently the way it has.
When we arrived in Bogota the first time, I was surprised how familiar and wonderful it was to be back in Latin America and how I realized that I prefer this environment to the sterile one I had just come from.
And that's how it seemed to me, sterile. The yards are manicured and the sidewalks nice, but the people stay in their cubicles, don't get close to anyone outside their circle, don't sit in cafes to talk, have a very big personal space and never touch, holidays are a good opportunity to bill more hours and children leave at age 18 and don't come back.
My North American friends laugh at me when I say I call my older children to ask their opinion or advice in their area of experience.
I was alone those 2 years in Las Vegas and when we left in 2006, I realized I had no one to say good bye to and I felt no particular loss, and not because I didn't reach out. I had 4 callings at church and reached worked with different organizations outside the church and assisted in many projects, But I felt a great relief to return to Bogota. I value the perpective in Latin America and didn't want to leave it. The family, and being together with people you feel affection for is more important than having my own house, or a cars or (can you believe it?) an iphone (which, you may as well know, I truly covet.
So when I go back down country for whatever the reason, I understand that there are shortages and lack of services but for some reason I love them. I know missionaries say this, but they leave after 2 years. Me? I want to work with them, kiss them in greeting and raise my family among them. I will take malaria medicine which God gives in his kindness, but I will speak Spanish to them and prefer their company because they are my brothers and I want to hear their story.
My North American friends laugh at me when I say I call my older children to ask their opinion or advice in their area of experience.
I was alone those 2 years in Las Vegas and when we left in 2006, I realized I had no one to say good bye to and I felt no particular loss, and not because I didn't reach out. I had 4 callings at church and reached worked with different organizations outside the church and assisted in many projects, But I felt a great relief to return to Bogota. I value the perpective in Latin America and didn't want to leave it. The family, and being together with people you feel affection for is more important than having my own house, or a cars or (can you believe it?) an iphone (which, you may as well know, I truly covet.
So when I go back down country for whatever the reason, I understand that there are shortages and lack of services but for some reason I love them. I know missionaries say this, but they leave after 2 years. Me? I want to work with them, kiss them in greeting and raise my family among them. I will take malaria medicine which God gives in his kindness, but I will speak Spanish to them and prefer their company because they are my brothers and I want to hear their story.
