Ticket Days

"Have you had a ticket day yet?" we were asked by some colleagues who came to visit us this week. Unfortunately I then felt completely stupid because I had to ask what on earth he was talking about!

A ticket day just means that if you had a ticket back to the States you'd use it because it's so aggravating here or you're just plain tired of being a missionary, of visiting people, of having a constantly dirty (think layers of dirt, not dust) house and you just want to leave.

I had to stop and think about that question for a bit. Sure there have been times where I've wanted to come back. I miss my family and friends. I miss my church. I miss the ease of living next to a grocery store or a Target. I miss lots of things..who wouldn't?! But even in the midst of all of that I've never wanted to come back because I was tired of this culture, aggravated or so frustrated that I wanted to stop. I've wanted to come back to give my family a big huge hug and be loved on by them, but never because I didn't want to be here anymore.

It's a funny thing...we've been here a little over a year now and sometimes it feels like just yesterday we arrived. We are constantly inundated by new things, things we've never seen or heard before, new challenges, new successes. So much so that it feels sometimes like we're still newbies (i mean we are...but we have some time under our belts). But yet at the same time this feels like our second home. Just the other day we were walking through the market, almost got hit by a donkey cart, were pushed around by the crowds of women in the main section, stopped and chatted with some women with the same last name and then bought a HUGE eggplant for .10 cents and it stopped me in my tracks. I thought...this feels normal...just another day...something we've been doing forever. How weird is that?!

One thing that I've consistently been sure of is His call on my life. I've never doubted that I was supposed to come here. Even in the midst of....well just plain yuckiness....I've always been sure that this was what He's called me to do. So even if I had a plane ticket, I'd only use it if it meant I could come back here after I loved on my family for a bit. Because this is my second home...oh and we've worked really hard to make it homey....in a good way...not the boring, colorless, drab homey way....like pretty, warm, and colorful way and it'd be a shame to stop now :)