During our summer travel that began with leaving our home in North Texas in late May, I was impressed with the idea of being a pilgrim, or wanderer, more than usual. Probably this had something to do with the destination--not returning to a familiar home, but eventually landing in East Africa. Two months later, we've arrived in Nairobi, but establishing our own home and our "new normal" will have to wait several more weeks.
Add to that the feeling of exposure, of not being able to blend in, and the newness of the plants, animals, food, traffic, sounds, smells, and currency, and I feel...strange. Alien.
It brings to mind a portion of Hebrews 11 about heavenly hope, describing the examples of faith and how they lived.
13 "All
these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did
not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and
welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on
earth."
The part about belonging to another, promised home was true for me long before we left for Kenya, but I can definitely relate in a more tangible way to being a foreigner and a nomad at the moment--a "mzungu," a stranger, an alien... In fact, tomorrow we're scheduled to apply for alien cards, to make it official!
This inaugural post has brewing in my head since we arrived, and I look forward to sharing Nairobi through this blog so those of you who aren't here can experience some of it, too. Besides, a bunch of you said you wanted to come and visit us here! I hope you do.
