So, my last blog was the mourning over this season ending. This blog is the rejoicing over what's coming! Here it is:
The Top 10 Things I'm Looking Forward to About Coming Home…
10. Dairy Products
I really don't understand why people around the world don't love their dairy as much as Americans do. I cannot wait to eat yummy honey-flavored Greek yogurt and eat cheese that tastes like it fell straight from heaven. Ice cream that is not made with buffalo milk? SIGN ME UP!
9. Variety in Food
Although this is a wonderful thing that I am excited about, the thought of the smorgasboard of choices I'll have when I get home is overwhelming. You mean I don't have to have rice with every meal? I can have real Mexican? Pancakes at 3 o'clock in the afternoon? What if I want a supreme pizza with no mushrooms or olives? They will not only UNDERSTAND my order the first time but they will DELIVER it to my door?! That's gonna be crazy.
8. American Money
Although I am extremely disappointed in the fact that America seriously as the ugliest and most boring looking money in the entire world, it will be nice to be able to think only in dollars and not have to do any math every time I buy something. And I won't have to trust the cashier to give me the right amount of change because I can't tell what numbers are actually on the bills.
7. Being Able to Go Where I Want, When I Want, How I Want, and With Whom I Want
I don't have to ask permission to go to the coffee shop. (And there actually are several coffee shops I can choose from!) I can get up and go at 7 or I can wait until 10. It makes no difference. I don't have to depend on someone else taking me or going with me and I don't have to pray that the taxi drivers aren't on strike today. I can go by myself or with one friend, but I sure as heck don't have to invite 6 people so that no one feels left out. All of these drastic changes are a little overwhelming at this point, but it's going to be AMAZING.
6. Not Having To Live Out of a Backpack
I cannot explain to you the sheer JOY that comes with knowing that I will not have to pack up every belonging to my name and carry it around for a couple of days each month. I really will have a place to put things. I will no long have to carry around 5o pounds that is not only my closet, but also my bathroom, pharmacy, and kitchen pantry. This also means that I can choose what to wear from a bigger selection than 4 shirts, 3 pairs of capris or pants, or 3 fancy dresses from India, which is about what I'm down to at this point.
5. Good Roads
I can honestly say that ever since my first trip to Uganda, I have never taken well-paved roads (and especially interstates) for granted again. I am so so thankful for an organized system of roads where you don't have to dodge potholes, animals, bicycles, and pedestrians all at the same time.
4. Mosaic Church
I have missed my church family so much this year. For some reason, it's hard to glean as much from a 4-hour service that is entirely in Russian. I'm looking forward to being surrounded by people that have supported me along the way and push me so hard towards the Cross. And I'm definitely looking forward to sermons in English!
3. Chick-Fil-A
Enough said.
2. Friends
I am so blessed to be going home to so many friends who love the Lord, love missions, and love me well. So many of my squadmates do not have the priviledge to go home to friends who already "get it." I do. I am excited to laugh, to cry, and to simply be with my friends as we get to know each other again after the many months of change.
1. Family
I love my family so incredibly much. This year the Lord has shown me over and over again how blessed I am to have a family that loves and supports me so much. I have met so many people this year who do not only have the support of their families, but some who have never known a single member of their family. I cannot imagine. My family is engrained into every thread of my being and have always, always been there for me. I can't wait to smother them all with hugs. I can't wait to eat Pizza Hut with my mom, grab Chick-Fil-A with my sister, crawl into the middle of my grandparents bed and talk with them for hours, learn to fry chicken like my grandma and make spiced plum jam with my grandpa, take my cousin to Starbucks, and make quiche or tacos with my aunt. Our families are the first people that God has given us to love and bless. If we are not showing Christ's love to our families, we cannot truly operate in His love towards others.
Coming next.. Re-Entry Part 3!
