The mission field changes your perspective in many ways. As we are in the States, some of these changes have become more apparent to me. Here are some of the things I have noticed:
My patience has grown. I am not as quick tempered or easily annoyed as I used to be. I am more patient and accepting of people who have skill sets and abilities different from mine.
Americans in general are fire-phobic. Fires are a normal part of life in Cambodia. People there burn undergrowth in mass amounts every year. Granted, it’s not as humid here, but I was shocked to go camping and not even be able to have a campfire in a designated fire pit!
My definition of dirty is much more relaxed. If a potato chip or carrot falls on the floor, instead of throwing them away, we blow off the chip or rinse off the carrot. All of the clothes I brought from Cambodia, which I thought were our best and most acceptable clothes, looked very grungy and worn once we got to the States.
My palette has become more natural. Processed foods are much less available in the mission field. Since coming home I have found that many of the processed foods I used to like—even Taco Bell, previously my favorite—don’t taste nearly as good as I remember. It makes giving up unhealthy foods a bit easier. Also, I never knew how many calories were in Dairy Queen treats until I went to a store for our anniversary and saw the calories posted on the menu. They aren’t posted in the Cambodian DQs. I couldn’t believe how many calories were in my favorite blizzard (over 1,000—enough for a whole meal).
Sweet corn is SWEET! Our taste buds have adjusted to field corn in Cambodia. When we first moved to Cambodia, its taste was unbearable. But we got used to it. After a previous furlough, I took some sweet corn seeds back to plant in Kaak’s field. The corn grew beautifully and was ready to harvest. The night before they were going to harvest it, monkeys came into the field from the jungle and ate every ear of it. We were all sad that our friends hadn’t been able to try real sweet corn. Coming back and having sweet corn again was truly amazing.
This world is not my home. America is not home. Cambodia is not home. People always ask us where we are from, and it is one of the hardest questions to answer. Both places have aspects of home, and technically we are in Cambodia more than America. As Christians, this is really how we should feel. Heaven should be our home. We shouldn’t feel completely comfortable in this world. It will be so wonderful when we go to heaven and finally feel at home!
In our Christian walk, changes in perspective are often good things. If you love Jesus and want to broaden your perspective, what better way to do it than to serve Him overseas? Give it a try for a year or six, or like us and others, even more. Your perspective will forever be changed.
