Same-yet-different Sunday

On Tuesday we passed the 4 week mark! It's encouraging know that we've been here a month without major troubles. God has blessed us richly, and we're excited to see what else he has in store for us.

This past Sunday was full of same-yet-different feelings. We realized as our day progressed that we were doing many of the same activities we would have been doing if we were living in the U.S., but it felt quite a bit different in a different culture and climate.

In a nutshell, we went to church, ate lunch with friends and family, then relaxed in the evening while getting ready for the week. Sounds very much like many of our lazy Sundays in Virginia!

First was church, just like other Sundays. But, we went to church on a crowded bus. Church consisted of very loud, electronic music for worship, a troupe of dancers in the aisles, and an hour-long sermon. We arrived at church around 8:15 and left around 10:30. We only understood about 7% of what was said during the service.

Then we ate lunch with friends/family. But, we took a bus home from church. We ate a piece of chicken over a plate of rice with a fruit drink that I can't describe. Plus, we ate outside in short sleeves on November 2nd. And we were still sweating!

Then we relaxed and spent time with friends. But, Lauren was running around with our puppy and a gaggle of kids who live in a children's protection home in Managua. Mitch was playing guitar so that the house papa, Elmer, could rap in Spanish. Mitch was also trying to sing in Spanish.

Then we went home and got ready for the week. But, our preparation consisted of doing Spanish homework and preparing to teach English. We also had to figure out how to get a new bus card since Mitch lost his. And we did all this work in our house in Managua!

It's interesting that a couple can move to a completely new country and culture and find that certain routines don't change. Obviously there are differences, but once you can see past those, there are as many similarities as differences. And this is encouraging: to know that people share many things across languages, locations, and cultures. Clearly, a Sunday routine doesn't fully sum up the relationship between two cultures. However, it was something that gave us a taste of home when home is far away. At the same time, we're starting to feel like home is here in Managua!

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support. We feel so blessed to be here and experiencing life in a different country.

Make it a great day,

Mitch and Lauren