IT'S OFFICIAL - I'VE EXPERIENCED CULTURE SHOCK

As most of ya’ll know, the two months before I got here I spent training with the IMB. It was a great time where I was able to grow and learn about my job. There was one topic that was stressed a lot and I thought that it was never going to bother me. Yep, you guessed it, culture shock. There were tons of people that came to speak about the stages of culture shock, how to prevent it, how to recognize it in your colleagues, what to do about it, and how to overcome it. There even was this cool little video that a missionary from India made about culture shock. They must have shown it to us like five times.
My Sundays are just like your Sundays. In the morning I usually eat breakfast and then get ready to go to church. It’s probably not just like your church, but me and the other missionaries in this city have what you call “house church”. We sing, pray, someone teaches, all the same stuff that you would do. Anyways, this Sunday was different. When I woke up I remembered that all my colleagues were on a little vacation in a town about six hrs away. They asked me to come but, I thought I didn’t need a vacation. I thought I was fine; I love it here in Kolda! So, instead of going some where to worship God, I decided to worship in my place. I had a real nice peaceful morning. It started to become lunch time and I was thinking about my choices. Usually I just find a place in town to eat or I’ll eat at one of my friend’s houses with them. Today I cooked lunch and started watching a movie on my computer. After, I studied Pulaar a little, read a little and then I put in another movie. It was around six in the afternoon. I looked outside and I noticed that my night guard had already shown up and he was hangin out with some of my neighbors. For some reason I couldn’t get enough courage to get up and go outside to talk to them. So, I cooked dinner, watched another movie and called it an early night. I was not proud of myself knowing that I spent the whole day in my house and never even changed out of the clothes that I slept in.
So the next day was Monday. I wake up do my same morning routine and then go to my Pulaar class. I came home to eat lunch and do the only thing that I know - dive right back into the culture. I decided to leave my motorcycle at my house and walk to the market. I had a few things that I needed so I thought I would go on a little shopping spree. I bought a spatula, a mouse pad, some light bulbs, and I spent about an hour talking with the people in the clothes market. There’s this place that gets these big bags of clothes from America, Europe, and all those places and you just go looking through the piles until you find something that you want. I almost bought this shirt that was from a Doctor’s convention in Houston. It was perty cool with a big Texas Flag on it. So during my adventure I randomly met the chief of my neighborhood. He was a fun dude and was very interested in my job and why I was here. His friend was very curious that I believe that Jesus Christ is GOD. He asked a lot of questions that I was able to answer. I just hope that the door will still be open once my language gets stronger and I can answer some of the deeper question.
I went home, put my stuff away and hung out with my friend, the Sheriff and his family. They were all really worried about me because they knew I spent the entire day in my house on Sunday. They were asking me tons of questions thinking that I was sick or something. I finally said, “I’m white. You’re black. I was tired, and I’m not used to living in Africa!!” I know they didn’t understand but they did understand enough that I’m going to live and that I don’t need to eat some special plant that will make me poop or something.
I love my job. I’m starting to like this language, and most importantly, I love my Lord. And because I love Him, I’m trying to love the Fulakunda. Some days are a lot harder than others, but I’m here for a reason and to do that I know I have to live amongst the Fulakunda. I eat what they eat, I smell what they smell, I’m trying to talk what they talk, and I sweat like they sweat. Please pray that I can remember God’s love for these people. Pray that I will keep my eyes on the only one that can give me the rest that I need. Pray that I will be more like him.