Adjustments

I thank God for the nearly six years of experience working with Khmer people before we moved to Cambodia. It has proven to be invaluable. Bro. Benefield made a great point a few days ago when he told me, "You will probably never know what it is like to move to a country and literally know nothing of the language or culture when you arrive. I had to go through that 11 years ago. But you probably won't." Truly, being married into a Khmer family, working for several years with Khmers in southern California, and already spending two months in Cambodia in previous years have proven to be beneficial experiences.

Honestly, before we moved here, I had it in my mind that any adjustments we would have to make would be minimal at the most. I even had fanciful imaginations that we would not even have to worry about the typical adjustments that many missionaries face when they move to a foreign country. (Not because we're better suited to be missionaries, but because we knew more about what to expect than some missionaries who didn't have the opportunity to study the language or experience the culture of the country to which God had called them before moving there.) But living in Cambodia for a month has brought me back to the land of realism. 

For the next several weeks- or decades- I will be documenting some of the adjustments we have made and are making as we minister in Cambodia. Some will be significant adjustments; some will be petty. Whether significant or petty, we need God's grace to make any adjustment.