Interesting question...

I want to give a huge “gracias a Dios” for all the people who inquired further about the precious family I wrote about in my last blog entry “I am changed.” It was so cool to see God use their story to encourage you like He did in me. People have pledged to routinely pray for them. A few have asked how they could use their own blessings to support those little girls financially. One beautiful family has committed to dial down their Christmas so they can focus on giving to others less fortunate! All I can say is que bonita! I pray that you continue to move how the Lord leads you. That you have the courage to ask the tough questions when it comes to “how much we really need” and what the answer of that question could possibly mean to little ones like my precious Dayana. You all are amazing and I am so thankful for you and the support you have given!

I’m back in the United Stated of America! Woohoo!

There will surely be a blog entry detailing the Reese Peanut Butter Cup overload in the Fort Lauderdale Airport, that first cheeseburger in downtown Portsmouth, NH (thanks Lexi), and even about the 60 minute hot shower I took! Living in the developing world that is the village of Santa Ana, my level of appreciate for mundane things shot through the roof! Anyways, I'll try to rock a blog about this as well as the lovely culture shock that met me when I got off the plane.

This entry will be the answer to a question a relative asked me shortly after I returned. The question was: “So are you ready to return back to the real world?”

Before I respond, I just want to say that there was nothing malicious about this question. It wasn’t said in a manner that was mocking. I sincerely believe he knows how important my experience was in Colombia and just merely was inquiring about my future plans, in the United States.

However, as soon as he asked the question, my mind went a million places. Don’t you love how quickly our brains process thoughts!

What is the real world?

Mark Twain said: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, narrow mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on those accounts. Brood, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in our little corner of the Earth all one’s lifetime.”

The Kikuyu people of Kenya had an old saying that translated: “The man who has never traveled thinks his mother is the best cook.”

Relax, I don’t think everyone is called to hand in your notice at work, uproot the kids from school, and move to Africa. However, I think we need to allow ourselves to travel the world in our mind! By that I mean when you read my blog about the family in Santa Ana, did you allow yourself to see this story through the eyes of Dayana? When you hear about the an international crisis’ like we have seen in Sudan, Nigeria, Croatia, Rwanda, Darfur, Afghanistan, Haiti and about a hundred more around the world, do we stop to think about the people beyond the headlines. The millions of innocent people whose lives, whose children’s lives, were changed forever when the first bomb dropped, the first president was overthrown, the first case of AIDS was found, or the last drop of water was seen.

Ralph Winter once said: “God cannot lead on the basis of facts you do not have.” I will say that in our high speed reality, we do have these facts. Sometimes we just chose not to allow ourselves to accept them. This blog is simply encouragement to see, hear, and read things in a different light. Travel the world in your mind and allow yourself to be impacted in a meaningful way.

As I have sat praying over and over about this, I have come to believe my real world includes a country like Colombia. I think it has to. My experience was life changing and as I said from the beginning, it felt more like home each and every day. While I know for a fact that I was never a top draft pick, I believe that God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called. So in that I live and breathe and open my reality to allow God to do whatever He desires through me in this struggling country. While I will have more details about where he is leading me, I invite you all be a part of the true real world in whatever way that takes you!

Gracias a todos!

Eric