SOME FIRST THOUGHTS ABOUT BEING HOME

I've been a youth pastor for 14 years now. This was my longest single stint out of the office in my career. It amounted to like 3 1/2 weeks in Africa. More like 5 1/2 out of the office if you count summer camp and the week before since I was only in the office for like 2 days. Much of that time was "on the job", but regardless, upon returning to the U.S. on Tuesday night, I have had some observations.

• When the U.S. passport agent said to me, "welcome home," I teared up. After 6 trips to international airports, someone telling you they were glad to have you in their country evidently rang some unspoken need deep inside.

• Don’t bitch about what you don’t have; doing so does not promote peace, but only reinforces your discontent.
  

• HEY AMERICA: the internet is lightning fast, your roads are amazing, your gas is cheap, your closet is overflowing, your food is plentiful, your wallet is fat, your electricity is amazing, and your water is a luxury the rest of the world longs for... just to name a few right off the top of my head.

• I waste too much time, resources, and money on that which does not matter.

• Money or distance is not the solution to your problems. It is also not the solution to Africa's.
  

• There is no limit to what one can carry on a bike, small moped, or on your head. Here's a short list of what I saw carried on at least one of those items: 3 wood couch frames, glass panes, 400 pounds of water, massive amounts of fruits and vegetables, an entire convenient store, large bundles of firewood, 3 other people, live chickens, and a HUGE live pig tied to the back of a moped (it also was peeing as we passed by. Thankfully on the other side of us)
  

• Observation: Americans might be fat because we eat too much processed food and don’t have to walk far enough to get our day done. Just a thought.
  

• If you want to know what first century Jerusalem was like, just go to the villages around Lake Victoria and watch people mend their nets, farm their food, ask questions about Jesus, and bring you their sick to be prayed over.