Debriefing. The process that translates easier as, "Oh my, I'm back in America and this doesn't feel like home anymore." I started to feel like a sojourner before I left overseas at about this time last year, but now, I really feel like a wanderer. I think it is a way God prepares some people to deal with starting basically a new life. Well, now I'm back "home" and the transition has been tough.I wonder if people look at me different. I wonder what they think. I try to just blend in, but inside that couldn't be any farther from reality. I know people cant necessarily see my heart and my mind, my soul, but I still feel like they can. So I try to act as normal as possible even though I will never be normal again. To see what I saw, to hear what I heard, to understand what I now do about life, and this vastly different culture I once lived, is irreplaceable. I mean, I know I still have much to learn, but I did learn some valuable things while I was "there".
America is the same as I left it. TV's. Movies. Starbucks. Gyms. Churches. Radio. Cars. Houses. Etc. But, I have a new reality now. I have images and stories imprinted in me that will never go away.
Everyday I see Gulagha. My guard. My friend. Who died the day before I left.
I just pray that the Lord guides me through this journey of readjustment and applying lessons learned from overseas . I ask that my life will never be the same, and that I learn and draw closer to him as a result of it......
