Reunions and Robberies

Last night I went out to meet a friend, Claire, who I havn't seen in two years. We decided to meet for coffee at Barnes and Noble. It was a wonderful reunion and we had an amazing time of sharing what we have been learning, how we are feeling, and what is up next in our lives. When Barnes and Noble closed, we sat outside for a while, having no idea how fast time was passing. A man approached us asking for directions to a restaurant that neither of us had ever heard of. He was acting kind of strange, but after not being in America for two years I couldn't really pinpoint what was wrong. We both turned around to point down the road and before we know it he was running to hop in to a "getaway car" with both of our purses. Cell phones, credit cards, and ID-all gone. Someone had witnessed the robbery and tried to follow the car, but had lost them in traffic. We spent about two hours in the Riverchase Bruno's giving our accounts of what happened and making lists of everything we had lost. But basically what it comes down to is that it is all gone. I know that everything can be replaced, but I'm angry that he was daring enough to come up and talk to us for 5 minutes and we were so nice and trying to help him, and then he took "everything" from us and was gone. And when I got home and called, they had already used my debit card at three gas stations for about $120. We are trusting the Father that there is a reason that He allowed this to happen to us, although right now we are not exactly sure how He will reveal His glory through all of this. I think culture shock has kicked in and I need a rest now.

Whirlwind

Well, the past week and a half are a blur. I was supposed to leave Abidjan on May 1st and arrive home on the 2nd. But Wednesday the 28th I found out that my grandmother had passed away the night before, so I was on a flight out of Abidjan that night. I stepped off the plane and things have not slowed down for one minute since then. There were several days of visiting with family and friends that were in town with the funeral. And then once all of the company left, I had to start trying to get my life in America set back up.

Crystal and I at AXIS
People are continually saying "Oh, you must have the worst jet lag! How bad is culture shock?" And to tell you the truth, neither has been too bad so far. There have been a few times that the speed of life here has been a little frustrating, but because I had to hit the ground running I haven't had a chance to have jet lag.But I know once things get settled down all of that will change. It still seems unreal that I am here and I'm not really sure what I am thinking yet.