If you have ever lived overseas and you are trying to learn a new language then you know what I mean.

going to the bank

going to the doctor

going to government office building

not being able to read the labels at the store

when the phone rings and it is a local call

All of these can be stressors in a foreign setting.

They can create anxiety in the life of the foreigner.

I also have much more compassion with the person who is from another country that now lives in the states.  Have you ever offered your help to them in the store or in another situation?  This type of love for our neighbor can go a long way in gospel presence.

I bought Metaxs’ biography of Bonhoeffer before I left. I have enjoyed getting a good start on the 608 page book. It definitely put extra pounds on my baggage limits and I bought the paperback edition. Unfortunately it may take until Christmas to finish it.

He writes this about a time he visited the Sacre Coeur Church in Paris. He attended a mass there and most of the people attending were prostitutes.

“It is much easier for me to imagine a praying murderer, a praying prostitute, than a vain person praying. Nothing is so at odds with prayer as vanity.”

Webster defines “vain” as having or showing undue or excessive pride in one’s appearance or achievements : conceited.

Do you think that one’s vanity affects our prayer life?

I am thinking much.

HOUSES, CARS, CLOSETS, SIZE OF SERVINGS AT RESTAURANTS, ETC..

I must admit in some cases it does not always take a long time to readjust.

In fact some of these make it quite easy. Here are a few.

The size of parking spaces seem so much larger here. I like the extra room to park.

It is much easier to clean the kitchen with such a large dishwasher. Easy to hide the dirty dishes. Out of sight out of mind.

The large refrigerators  and cupboards allow you to buy a week’s worth of groceries and store them.

It is much easier to do all of the clothes in one load with the large washing machines. At least that is what my wife tells me. grin.

Not to mention taking a nap on a large couch. I personally like that.

Beds in hotel rooms are larger so that makes travel a little more comfortable. As much as I travel that is a nice change.

Granted I have not found the extra large cup of Hot Chocolate that I found near Brussels but I will continue to search.

more re-entry issues later.

Why do I get overwhelmed when I go to Krogers or Ingles or Target?

Choices abound everywhere in the land of plenty.

How many different types of yogurt does one need?

Is it necessary to have full row of  frozen Pizzas to choose from?

Soft Drinks, bread, cereal, tennis shoes, etc..

The list can go on and on and on.

Is it good for us to have this many choices?

It is an adjustment for me when I return to the states to get use to so many choices. Sometimes I really like it but sometimes it is overwhelming. So if you see me out shopping somewhere and I am in a daze. I am not being rude. I am just re-entering.

It gave us nourishment and it also gave me a thought about living cross-culturally. We were amidst a pretty tough stretch of life overseas. In some ways tougher than ever before and we have lived overseas for quite a few years now.

Webster says  this about the PRESSURE COOKER

I am glad they added number two with this definition and this was precisely my point. I went to another trusted source at www.wikipedia.com and found that ” Pressure cooking is a method of cooking in a sealed vessel that does not permit air or liquids to escape below a preset pressure. Because the boiling of water increases as the pressure increases, the pressure built up inside the cooker allows the liquid in the pot to rise to a higher temperature before boiling”.

What does this have to do with life overseas? I believe that  living in another culture can sometimes be similar to a pressure cooker. You throw in a lot of circumstantial ingredients into the pot of  living in a cross cultural setting and the result can be a lot of pressure and stress for a single or with a family.

This is why overseas workers of all types: expat business people, military personnel and vocational missionaries need the prayer, support and accountability from their churches back home.

It is also why it is so important to have genuine community where they live.

Regardless of where you live having support does prevent tough times coming upon you. However, it is important to have a good support base both locally and back in your home country or city that will help see you through these times.

I arrived yesterday at about 2:30 pm after about a one hour wait in line at passport control. It was already getting dark. Grey clouds. A little snowy. I have only met one person from the Ukraine that speaks English. Even the words on the signs are hard to read. The words are in Cyrillic. I was able to guess at some of the letters since they reminded me of Greek.

I had dinner with some workers who live here and then I was dropped off at the hotel. Again, no one  that I tried talking to spoke English.

• I do not speak Russian
• I have never been to the city
• Signs are all in Ukrainian and I do not recognize the letters.
• Not many English speakers
• Dark when I arrived
• In a hotel not knowing anyone

What do you do?

Are there some “first things” you do when you arrive to a new place?

It hit me this morning again. I hate that I must be reminded of this so much.
Being here reminded me of the total dependence upon the Lord that we must have daily on the field.

More on this city and some things I am learning later but this post is about something that should be an automatic for me. We need to be dependent on the Lord. There is something about  going to a foreign place and not knowing how to do anything that makes you stick pretty close to the Lord. It does not have to be this way. I need to daily depend on the Lord regardless of where I land. Sure there are some “first things” that I need to do when I arrive in a new place that can help me learn the city and culture but the realization is that I need to depend upon the Lord.

What do you do when you land in a new place?

Because my wife is a teacher at Black Forest Academy and of course my son a student they do not always get to participate in my ministry. It was great having them along for the weekend. We worked hard and had some fun.

My top five treats in London

1. Krispy Kreme Donuts – I only had them twice but they were good.
2. Watching my son go crazy on Denmark Street where we visited shop after shop of music stores. He is a guitarist.
3. We saw the musical “Wicked”. It was indeed wicked (which use to mean good)
4. The lighting of the Christmas tree on Thursday night. Norway gives London a tree each year. It is always great to be in a square with atleast 500,000 people.
5. Being able to reconnect with several friends who live in London and spend some time with them.

I also want to list another top five of sorts.

1. Had lunch with a person who is working in London and part of our Skybridge Community . It is so encouraging to see people living out their lives incarnationally in the marketplace here in Europe.

2. Talked with a person who is an artist and is doing a spectacular job connecting with other artists in London and being the salt and light in that community.

3. Visited the wonderful folks at Westminster Chapel where we will be next May for a few of our days there. Ed Stetzer will be preaching there on May 23rd.  The Upstream Collective and Acts 29 Western Europe will be hosting a one day conference there called Dwell on May 22nd.  More on that later.

4. Spent time with an imb worker is who hoping to find creative partnerships with North American churches to engage the burroughs of London. What is really cool is how this guy is a catalyst for connecting these churches with existing ministries and churches and the collabroration that is going on is great.

5. The continual amazement at how the world really is in London. There are so many opportunities there to share the Gospel with many of the people groups in the world. I love working in Europe. I think it is one of the most strategic places in the world to be involved in missions. I have learned so much since 2001 about ministry here. I have much more to learn. Not to make an huge advertisement but Caleb Crider and I are really pumped about being with Alan Hirsch at the churchplanters.com conference where we will be doing a pre- conference workshop entitled “Back to the Future: Lessons from Europe” and how that can apply to church planting in the states today.  If you can come to that please sign up on their site.

I know I am in the middle of my “Church Learning a Foreign Language” series. I have my next post ready for Monday and it is full of some great links and ideas from a person who is a language coach for overseas workers here in Europe.

Learning language is important. However, another aspect of living overseas is being able to adapt to the culture. I have seen people who have done well in learning a second language really struggle in adapting to another culture.

Last night we went to Herbstmesse in Basel.
It is quite a BIG event. I read where it has been going on for almost 500 years. It is like going to a county fair but in an urban setting and it is totally spread out all over the city. I love the giant Ferris Wheel in front of the church. It is quite fun. I did not see the livestock or petting zoo. I did not see the “Fairest of the Fair” contest. I doubt they have one. However, there are a lot of food options. Check out this link.

But it is an important part of the city life in Basel during this time of the year. It is an important cultural event. We have been every year that we have lived here and love it. I must admit it costs quite a bit per ride (the exchange rate is not friendly to us right now) so we do not do many rides but the kids love it and it is chance to hang with their friends and a chance for us to try some yummy food.

What are the events you should go to in your city? How important is your presence there?
What do you learn about the people when you go to these festivals.?

Can learning be fun? I think so.

The book of Acts comes alive here as you walk around the marketplace, the temple sites, Mar’s Hill.

I am standing next to his speech as recorded in Acts 17. I giving you the English version in case you cannot zoom in and read it in Greek.

²²Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. ²³For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.

I must say when you come to Athens you must try the “Frappe“. I doubt the Apostle Paul was able to experience this aspect of Athenian life but the”iced coffee drink” is something to remember.

More Soon.

I was able to spend a few days last week in Marsielle presenting a few sessions at a training event. I was also able to get a preview into the May 2009 Upstream Collective vision trip to that city. We will be touching down in two cities: Rome and Marsielle.

Marsielle is an awesome city and one that will be a fascinating place to explore with the pastors who are coming along on this journey.

Some fast facts:

The picture you see above is a beautiful cathedral called Notre Dame de la Garde and it overlooks the old port into Marsielle. The idea is that “Mary” overlooks the city and protects the ships as they come in and out of the harbor.

Notre Dame de la Garde also overlooks Chateau d’If famous from the book by Alexandre Dumas entitled: The Count of Monte Cristo.

Also:

• It is the oldest city in France. Marsielle was settled in 600 BC by the Greeks.

• It is the third largest urban area in France with nearly 1.5 million people.

• Some demographic studies show that over 25 percent of the population are people from North Africa. For a great blog on ministry opportunities with these people groups check out this.

• There are also said to be almost 80,000 Jews making it the third largest urban Jewish community in Europe.

As in many cities in Europe there are beautiful buildings and scenery but the spiritual needs are vast. In reading some bible commentaries this week on the book of Acts I read this quote. The late Noel O. Lyons, for many years director of the Greater Europe Mission, used to say, “Europe is looked over by millions of visitors and is overlooked by millions of Christians. Europe needs the Gospel today as it did in Paul’s day..”

If you are interested in this vision trip please visit www.theupstreamcollective.org