Confession part 1

Time for a missionary confession... I like stuff.

In the last week, I have had two dreams about shopping. In one, I walked through Target. I strolled through each and every department. Oh how I longed for the clearance section, the cute home decor items, and the candy isle. I woke up grumpy with an unquenched shopping craving. Then a few days later I had another dream that my sister and I went shopping the day after Thanksgiving. Again, I woke up wanting stuff, cheap stuff, and the thrill of the hunt.

But alas, this Thanksgiving there will be no searching the ads, waiting in line at midnight, or hunting for door-busters for me. I am trying to be alright with that. You see I like stuff and I like shopping. I know missionaries are supposed to be holy people that live in mud huts and never complain that they have an ugly yellow and brown curtain in their bathroom, well I hate to burst your bubble but I am still the same me that loves to shop and color coordinate.

Missionaries are often unfairly put on a pedestal. I am reading this book called, "What You Can't Leave Behind:A Rookie Missionary’s Life in Africa." It has been so helpful. In it, the author talks about when he first became a Christian and what he thought missionaries were like. Here is his impression:



"They were the monks of the Protestant world, in my mind. I pictured them with noses in Bibles and leading their children around like docile lambs and speaking in hushed whispers about the hundreds of conversions that they saw each week. If there wasn't a halo or aura hovering overhead, then it was only because I was too sinful to see it."

Ha! I have dreams about Target and every time I walk into our bathroom I think, "Hello, 1970's called and it wants its curtain back." Here is the truth- missionaries are just normal people. God just happened to call us somewhere and we went- and we arrived with all of our idiosyncrasies and issues. Now you know. So if God calls you too, don't worry about all of your junk because God can still use you!